Beyond The Border
by Shroom Crab
Summary: Being rewritten.
1. Twisted Land of Fantasy

**Chapter 1**

Today's been an average day so far. That means that things are going extremely well today. I usually suffer an average dosage of seven counts of misfortunate incidents before the day is over. This time there has only been three such incidents.

There was the morning where I woke up sweaty due to the AC breaking and the power going out. That eventually got fixed by the time I came back. There was the second time when I was coming home from work, and my phone slipped out of my hands and cracked itself on the ground. It still works thankfully. Then there was the third moment, which was frankly the worse and the type of bad luck I am most used to.

I was taking a nice shower when all of a sudden, the lights went off and the water turned cold. I jumped from the chilliness of the water on my back, tripped and got my hair stuck in the drainage. I just ripped out the strands that were stuck in there, but man did that hurt. I was able to at least finished the shower even through the cold water and now I'm laying here on my bed.

"I'm going to experience terrible luck tomorrow." I say with resignation. That's the pendulum of my luck. When it starts to be kind, then it swings to the mean side twice as hard the next day. I'd rather it be consistent then for it to be moodier than a woman on her period. I yawn.

It seems my body is ready for sleep. There's really nothing left for me to do today except to get rest in preparation for the next day. It's hard to sleep when I get anxious for the next day filled with eventful occurrences. I could imagine that some people would kill themselves or others out of sheer anger or irritation with this life, but I can't afford to do that.

Simple reason is…I don't want to commit suicide, nor do I want to take it out on others. If I had to die, the last way I would go would be by my own hand. So, I'm just sitting here, staring up at the ceiling fan and thinking hard about my life. This is why I have a hard time falling asleep. I'm always using my brain to rapidly think and hypothesize my next day, and think back on the past.

"Still, I should have fallen asleep by now, so why haven't I yet?" I look down at myself and still realize that I'm wearing my white hoodie.

"Oh." I didn't even realize I still had it on. I only wore it from how cold I was when I got out of the shower. If I go to sleep in this and the AC breaks again... I could very well actually die from heatstroke. Would that be suicide or stupidity?

I sit up and jump off my bed. The moment my feet touch the ground, I lose all balance and starts falling. I expect a large thud and some pain, not me literally falling through the ground!

"…!" I try to scream out something, but nothing comes out my mouth. I keep sinking into inky blackness that I can't pull my way out of. I start giving in to mild panic and latch on to my table. I grip the leg as hard as possible not to sink into it, and it seems to have worked. I slowly pull myself out of the surprise quicksand trap in my room and stay far away from it.

"The fuck was that?!" I nearly sunk into hell right there! It's a good thing that there was something to grab on to. If there wasn't... All I can do is shiver from the thought of drowning in inky shadows.

"Seriously, what was that?" That's all I can say to that. I can't even feel shocked, rather I feel completely numb and drained from that ordeal. I actually feel uncharacteristically exhausted from that. I swear my soul was going to get drained there. I turn around and see the hole immobile in the same spot. It's not swirling or expanding, it's just static. I hear…no, I feel something buzzing in the back of my mind.

I push back against it, to drown it out, but it keeps invading my mind and knocking back harder. I completely ignore it instead as I get closer to the hole without putting any part of my body inside of it.

"Just what is this…?" I say to myself in horror. The way it started draining my life and body away like that… "Could it be the IRS?" I joke to myself. They are pretty good at snatching people souls. They'd make the Devil sign a deal with the devil, the devil being them.

"Ah, damn it." That nudging feeling is back again. It's starting from the back of my head and making its way towards the front. Because of this buzzing, I didn't notice what was happening to the hole in front of me. It didn't physically move its location, but it started distorting and growing tendrils. I fall on my knees and start yelling as the pain magnified. It feels like my brain is going to explode!

I notice blood dripping out of my nostrils. If I remember correctly, that could be a symptom of a brain hemorrhage. I try to stand up dizzily as I feel my entire senses distort and move outwards. It feels like an out of body experience, and that's when I finally see the absolute Darkness in front of me. The tendrils flash through my body and impale me through my arms, legs, body, and wrap around me.

A splash of blood erupts from the stab wounds.

"What…?" This is just not my day. I can't feel anything. Everything's going numb. I still keep my ground and grip the shadowy tentacles piercing through my arms. The corners of my eyes are getting dark, but there's no way I'll pathetically go down like this.

"I think that…but I'm fighting a losing battle here," I note to myself. It's slowly dragging my body closer and closer to that hole. I'm only getting weaker as well. Between this killer headache and the blood loss, is there any way where I can get out of this?

Apparently, this thing thought it was taking too long, so it sent another tentacle to wrap around my neck. Now it's choking me out? What can I do to get out of this…?

"Now that I think about it, this only ranks in my top five weirdest things to happen to me. The place I live in is pretty absurd after all." Shit, my vision's getting darker. Harder to breathe as well…

It lifts me off my feet and drags me head first into the black hole. As soon as that happens, the pressure building in the back of my head bursts out and I sink into darkness along with my mind falling to oblivion.

_The world has an innings and outings, tops and bottoms, fronts and backs. These are the boundaries of the world. What happens…when one from beyond the boundaries reaches an impossible place. A person that shouldn't exist. He who doesn't exist...__**yet is still there.**_

* * *

"Am I dreaming?" My words came out slurred. I heard some words that sounded like it was put through a shredder. The distortion in them was headache inducing enough to wake me up. I tried to move my limbs, but it felt as though I was being restrained.

"Awake now?" My eyes shot open to the foreign, yet familiar voice. I felt disturbed because that voice didn't come from my mouth. Who I saw could very well be described as my doppelganger. A redhead with brown eyes smiling in a devious manner.

Though his hair was long enough to reach his lower back. I tilt my head in confusion mostly because my mind hasn't caught up with my eyes yet. When it did, I could feel my pupils constrict to the size of pinpricks.

"What's going on here?" I could feel mild dread begin to set in as I took in my location. I thought I was trapped in a strange place with no lights, but it seems like lights wouldn't even be able to illuminate the darkness I'm in.

I glanced at what's restraining me and recalled what brought me here in the first place.

The portal, the tendrils, the wounds. "Who are you?" That's the most important question. A look-alike staring straight at him and smiling without a care in the world. He finally opened his mouth.

"I forgot my name. I took on many mantles to replace the void in my soul, but none managed to stick. Face to face with my lesser is a nostalgic and irritating sight that I hatefully enjoy. Tell me your name." Just from listening to him, I can't get a read on him.

He's too contradictory. The safest thing I can do is answer. "Wil Greyson." He smiled in response. It was like seeing someone who finally grasped what they've been searching for after a long time.

It made me envious.

"I've taken your face, so I'll take your name too. Then I'll finally be whole enough to envelop everything instead of the half-banked existence I've been forced into."

"Wha—" What did he just say? I was so surprised that I cut myself off. He took my face and now he wants to take my name? He wants to take what I was born with and built upon with my own hands?

"There's no need to be angry. This is the proper way things should be. After all, we both have the same wish, the same hope, and the same desire. Everything we want will come true if you let me take your everything as things should've been from the beginning."

Even though I was suspended in mid-air by tendrils dangerous enough to pierce my skin and lift me up with ease, there's no way I can let something like this stand. I saw his hand slowly inch towards my chest.

"Stop it right now!" I yelled. It was futile, for he just ignored me as his hand sunk into my chest. Instead of normally seeing something like blood spurt out, a supranatural occurrence graced my eyes. Almost like my chest had the texture of water, it produced ripples as he pushed deeper in. Deep enough to hilt at his elbow.

When he grasped something, I felt my vision turn white. I barely heard him murmur something with my fading vision.

"This is… No it couldn't be. They're different? They're similar, but not the same? It couldn't be? How wonderful!" The restraints around my arms and legs loosened enough for me to drive my fist into the lunatic's disgusting face.

The moment of impact caused the tendrils to dissipate in a mystical way as I flowed back in the world lacking physical laws, such as gravity. I couldn't stay awake anymore. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was my face looking back at me with a venomous smile.

* * *

**-Youkai Mountain-**

I let out a yawn and stretch my back. "That was a really weird dream." I sit up and notice that I was laying on…the grass? I sigh to myself in despondence.

"Of course it wasn't a dream. Now, where exactly am I?" There's no need to panic because I still have my life. I rub my nose to get the blood off of it. Good thing that the blood doesn't show on my already black jacket. I do an immediate doubletake as I see that the signs of impalements aren't there anymore.

"Just great." I look up at the sky just to find some semblance of stability. The stars are extremely visible at nighttime at this place. That means I ended up in some backwater place with little to no light pollution at all. At least that means I can actually see in the night. I can't ignore this abnormal feeling I have though.

I can see, touch, hear taste, smell, but it feels like there's something extra there. I don't want to know how that...dark thing messed me up, but I need to know. I don't know how to find out what's wrong with me though.

"Geez. Just what was I thinking?" I did feel something being pulled, but I couldn't quite get it. I got drugged by the darkness…I hope the cops will buy that excuse. I don't know where I am, so I pick a direction and just go. I end up going south from wherever I am.

"…The hell?" The moment I stood up to follow my decision, I stumbled over and reflexively held my hand to my chest. A burst of dizziness overwhelmed my perception for a miniscule period of time along with the feeling of a hole in my chest.

It went away just as quickly though. "I need to breath in and out to calm myself." I stood up once more and decided to take in the scenery moments before walking off.

I notice that I'm on some sort of mountain or hill. I can feel the change in elevation due to the difference in pressure, and through the simple fact that I'm going downwards as I walk south. It's pretty nice walking out with extremely fresh air to breathe in. It's not the first time I've been hiking, but it's already the best just because I haven't experienced any bad luck yet.

The moment I taunt Murphy like a stupid fool, I start hearing creepy giggling around me. It's echoing through the forest tonight, but they're not drums. An extremely ominous feeling set the tone and the mood.

"Come out! Whoever you are?" I manage to say without stuttering in the slightest. I swear it. The giggling only increases in volume and frequency. It seems that there are more tricksters in the forest then before. I book it and start running through the forest at high speeds. I eventually make my way to a waterfall while ignoring all the laughing behind me. I manage to out-speed them and nearly fall into the raging river.

"J-Jesus, that was creepy as shit!" I take in deep breathes just to get some oxygen back in my body. It felt like I was running forever there. Just what was chasing me? More importantly, where the hell am I?! I run my hands through my hair in frustration when I hear someone behind me.

"Halt intruder!" I turn around in shock, and notice the prime furry bait glaring at me. My eyes widened when I saw the thing that appeared in front of me. Seriously, a furry's wet dream is looking me dead in the eyes promising pain if I don't listen to her.

"And who the hell are you?!" Way to go, yelling at some random person out of frustration. Not like I can take it back when they look ready to ram that sword up where the sun doesn't shine. I'd rather have it go up the back rather than through the front at least.

"I'm the one asking questions. Why are you on Youkai Mountain?" Hold up. You wanna repeat that for me? I look at her in confusion. Youkai Mountain?

"Look lady. I just woke up higher on the mountain, and I have no idea where I am." I blurt that out in frustration with this situation. Something about her is niggling the back of my mind though. It's probably the damn doggy ears on her head.

"I see. You must be an Outsider then. You are currently in Gensokyo." My eyes widen in shock. What in the name of… "The Land of Illusions." You've gotta be fucking kidding me right now! I know jack shit about this place! Couldn't I've at least been sent to a place I have extensive knowledge about, like Pakistan? Wait that place is pretty dangerous as well… Shit, why couldn't that thing just let me stay home.

Asshole who stole my face and stole me from my home.

Damn, I can't believe I got infected by the Isekai disease. I'm gonna blame Japan. I place my palm on my face to block out this wild world. I need to remember the unchanging world from where I was before.

I'm calm now.

"Alright, say I believe you, about this Youkai and all that crap. Just what should I do now?" Only my bad luck could wind up sending me to this place. That guy… I'm going to call him Trash. I need to find him.

"Well, if you go further down to the base of the mountain, then you'll reach a peaceful village. They can help you out, but hold on!" I wave her goodbye and start running all the way down the mountain. I'm definitely going to find my way back home.

She may have called out to me right before I left, but I ignored it in haste. With all the shit going around in this forest, I just want to reach some proper civilization already. Now that I know where I am, I can probably guess that those so-called ghosts might've actually been real ghosts.

It was almost an hour ago where I was in a normal place without this supernatural crap being tossed at me. I sighed and looked up at the sky as I was running with little hope.

"I just want to return home." All the irritation, the frustration, the annoyance that came from being spirited away to a place I never wanted to come in explodes.

"FUCK!" The moment I say that, all of my anger is channeled into my mind and releases from my body as a shockwave that uproots the trees around me. I was struck dumb like a wooden chicken when I saw the destruction I caused. I even caught a glimpse of some weird-looking creatures looking at me right before the disappeared.

"Well," I lick my lips in consternation. "At least I'm not totally powerless."

It's terrifying though. I place my body against a tree that wasn't uprooted and stare at the ground with a gaze filled with frustration. "Shit. I never wanted this. Getting ripped from my home, getting thrown here, seeing strange creatures that may or may not be hostile…" There's only one thing I can do now.

To return to those days that never changed. The days that might've been painful, but are definitely preferable to this. I will swear an oath myself here and now. "I'm going to return to my original world no matter what." I stood up.

I need to figure out what exactly Trash did to my body, but before that I need to reach that village that the puppy was talking about. Once I do that, I can finally start thinking rationally about a way to get back. This place most likely has a way to do that hopefully.

I was ripped from my home in a supernatural manner, so I have to return through the same ways.

* * *

**-Giant Toad's Pond-**

I've been running for a bit, and I reached a pond. Wonder if there are any god slaying frogs or toads lying about here. I'm getting thirsty, so I might as well refresh myself with a nice drink of some pure spring water.

"Might as well take a break and start practicing what I can while I'm here." I can produce shockwaves, but I've only done it once. I'm gonna have to get this shit down. It feels like I can pull things from something, but I have no idea where to even begin. Maybe think hard…or calculate something?

That buzzing returned again. Every time I think of trying to do something unnatural, it kicks in hard. It feels very disabling on the brain, and it makes it hard to think or even use any of the five senses. The dizziness is causes is legendary, it almost feels like a damn migraine.

"Let's try making some wind." I focus deeply and cause an invisible distortion to spin around in my hand. I point it forward and disrupt the entire lake, splitting the water and sending it upwards. I smile to myself in hope that something is finally going my way, but then misfortune kicks in and a giant toad leapt right behind me. The loud impact it made when it landed bounced me off the ground. I turn around to hear a loud croak and find a real monster staring straight at me.

I think I may have pissed it off by screwing with its pond. Knowing my shitty luck, this is actually one of those god killing toads that like to chew bones for breakfast. I throw another burst of wind at it, knocking us both backwards. It blasts through some trees, and I go flying over the lake. If I didn't piss it off now, then I just did then. I have no regrets! I look at the toad as it immediately comes to its senses and lasers in on me.

"Oh, he's mad now. Shouldn't have done that. Maybe he was just gonna ask me to tone it down, but I did that like a dumbass," I murmur to myself in a panicky way. I immediately bolt from where I am and run even faster down the mountain as I try to escape the furious pursuit of a mad toad. I start to notice my right hand—the one that I fired the wind from—start steaming.

"This really burns!" Like turning the shower head a little too far to the left and all of a sudden, your whole body's on fire.

I hear the sounds of hopping. If I let it touch me, then it'll swallow me whole. I'm not into that kinda stuff at all! The biggest question is…why is a damn toad so fast! I was joking about it slaying gods. Don't tell me this thing is an actual tried and true super toad?

I hear the croaking behind me get progressively louder.

"I won't let you vore me!" I scream that in fear as I immediately speed up to escape that horrible fate. I turn around to see the toad open its mouth and spit out a large globe of water. I can't dodge it, so I just catch it with my steaming hand and…crush it. The pain vanished along with its attack.

I have no idea how I did that, but I run and grin all the way, glad to still be alive. It seems the monstrous toad has finally left me alone. The dog said that I only have to go down the mountain, but just how large is this mountain? I let out a yawn.

"Ah, the feeling of being alive is great!" I successfully escaped a horrible fate that was about to befall me. I let out another yawn. Why am I feeling so tired?

"Oh, that's right. I haven't gotten any sleep yet." I don't want to spend any longer than necessary in this place, but I should get some sleep at the village before moving on out of here. Sooner or later I'll make it home. Just gotta have some faith.

* * *

**-Untrodden Valley-**

"I've been walking for too long, I should've just sprinted." I say that the moment a valley and a village came into view. I've been following the flowing river down the mountain in hopes of the village being next to a body of water. I see a bunch of midgets in blue dressed like hikers. The moment I get a bit closer they all turn to me at once.

"The Smurfs?" Okay, I could've said something more intelligent.

"A human!" Their eyes are alight with curiosity the moment they spot me. Alright, they're not hostile. This is good, right? There's nothing that my negative luck can screw me over with here. At least I hope so…

One particular twin-tailed midget walks over to me. I look down at her in what I hope to be not a condescending manner. She looks up to me with optimism and curiosity shining in her eyes. I wish I could look so hopeful every day. Maybe then, I could face my misfortune head on and try to do something about it.

I make myself sad.

"Based on your appearance, you must an outsider, right?" She is spot on. The only thing I can do is nod in agreement. These little guys can't be normal. They can't be actual kids because that'd be too dangerous for them to be out by themselves. They're all female too?.

"Yeah, you're right." I let out a sigh. "I just got here and ran into a lot of trouble. By the way, what exactly are you guys? I don't think humans would be around killer toads." They don't seem to be hostile, so maybe Zashiki-warashi? I barely know my Japanese mythology in the first place.

Wait a sec, is this place even Japanese? Gensokyo sounded like that language, but the problem is how am I speaking it? I know next to nothing about this language.

"We're Kappa!" She gestures to her entire village cheerfully. Oh okay. Wait, Kappa?! You mean those turtle things that suck the souls out of people's assholes? I remember those because that's such a weird and shitty way to die. These guys are friendly, but what if that's a façade. All of a sudden, I don't want to stay here anymore…but god damnit it's nighttime.

"Look, I'm sure you guys are very friendly and nice Youkai, but…could you point me to a way out of…Gensokyo?" It seems that the twin tailed one is the only one willing to do conversation with me. The others are content to just sit back and watch us talk. Now that I know what these guys are, it feels almost sinister, the way they look at me.

I stick my hands in my pockets to hide the shaking. I can't show any fear to these demons. They could be like dogs, and just sense my fear. Then they'll chomp down on my ass. Literally. Gotta make sure to hide this feeling of fear crawling up my back.

"Of course. You just need to head on over to the Hakurei Shrine. We can give you a map of this area to help you out." How…considerate. I close my eyes and think for a second. I can risk my own ass—literally—to stay here and rest, Or I can risk my own life wandering through the forests even more at nighttime. I just got a feeling that there are some hostile monsters chilling there as well.

"I'll take the map and go on over there right now. I appreciate the help." I hold my hand out for a map. The look she gives me is one of confusion.

"You're gonna head out this late? You should stay here for the night. Right guys?" The other Kappa nod and agreement. That's…

"I'm sorry, but I just can't agree to that. I'm in a hurry you know. I understand the risk of the monsters or Youkai, you know. I ran into some earlier up in the mountains." One was friendly and the other was a hopping-mad toad though.

"Trust me, I'll be fine. I can go through the forest without being hurt. I'm a pretty good runner and I think that I can escape the Youkai unharmed." I give her a thumbs up to show my confidence.

Now will you let me go already?

"Prove it with a spell card battle!" So damn stubborn! What even is a spell card battle?

Yeah…I actually don't know the rules for that. Is this how the natives fight here or something? As long as it doesn't run the risk of me getting killed, then I guess I can participate in one.

"Explain the rules." I said curtly. And she did. She simplified it quite nicely.

Basically, the rules consist of using spell cards to win a magic duel. Whoever is the first to lose all their spell cards loses the duel. It can be decided how many spell cards each side is allowed to use. Oh yeah, spell cards have to be named upon use. So, we literally have to call our attacks. The participants in the duel decide who gets what upon victory before the match starts. It seems like it was made to be fair for both sides.

Apparently, the person who made these rules is the one who lives at the Hakurei Shrine. One Hakurei Reimu. She's also my ticket way home. These rules were made to protect humans and Youkai simultaneously it seems, but what stops a person from completely ignoring the rules? The threat of her power? There's a little too many unknowns for me to be fine with this, but…

If I don't accept this duel, then I'll most likely be forced to stay here for the night. I could be completely wrong about these Kappas, but I refuse to risk my life for that. I want, no, I _need_ to go home and get a good night rest. The way forward is through this battle. It doesn't matter who stands in my way, _I'll do anything to go home._

Except there is a huge problem for me. "I don't have any spell cards." I look her into the eyes as I say this. Her reaction will tell me how I shall proceed.

"That's fine. Just make one." Just…make one? These people sure say some crazy things. I mean it's not like I can hold out my hand and believe with all my heart to create a card that symbolizes my power.

"What the hell?" Of course, the moment I think one thing, the world has to contradict me. I did exactly that and a card just formed in my hand. Might as well read what it says. It isn't like this day could get any crazier. The moment I look at the card, my heart stops.

**Foreign Sign "Fortune's Folly"**

This card, the name of it, the way it looks, and the way I instinctively just know what it does. Well, at least it helped me figure out my power. The name of this ability made me a little irritated to say the least. Reminds me of how I'm nothing more than a toy of luck.

"Wow, you actually made a card?!" She seems truly surprised. Did she actually think I couldn't do it? Was she actually planning for me to back down from this? Now I really have to win this battle and get out of here. I let out a cough.

"Let's set the rules. They'll be as follow:

1\. Each side will use one Spell Card each.

2\. If I win, you'll hand me the map and let me leave. If you win, then I'll stay in the village overnight.

Is that fine?" Hopefully she agrees. This is my first time after all.

"That's good enough for me. Let's do this!" Then she begins to fucking fly of all things and expects me to take after her in the skies. Just how is she doing that? Can I repeat what she's doing and follow after her? It requires a sort of power, right? I have that because it helped me create this card. I attempted to access it and was greeted with a buzzing in my head and a hollow feeling in my chest.

It feels like somethings leaking away, but I have no concern for that at the moment. Damn, I don't think I can replicate what she's doing. The strange pain went away, though the buzzing is ever-present.

Like an annoying mosquito that keeps hovering around your ear, or a bee that makes you want to run away from, but it keeps chasing you. How many more similes do I need to make to actualize the annoyance of this? It's because of this that I can't focus at all!

Something I can't understand. Attempting to understand it will lead me down the path of no return. I can just feel it. An all-consuming something that will drive me away from my ultimate goal. This is the nature of that supernatural event left within me. Trash definitely had something to do with it. Of course, even with that internal understanding I reached, this brat is looking at me as if I'm slow.

"What are you waiting for?" I can't fly. You know, like a normal person?

I shrug my shoulders and sigh. I have no choice but to put up with this farce if I'm going to get anywhere. I spread my arms and call upon the power that I already despise. I could feel it rolling inside of me and just that was enough for the face on that blue-haired child's to turn into something strange.

"_Disgusting._" I won't lie; I was shocked by those words.

She pulls herself together immediately and begins chucking balls of blue death at me.

My mind was still on the topic of what she said to me. Disgusting? What was? My power, something else about me? The sight of magical orbs flying towards me at terrifying speeds pulled me straight out of my thoughts and I reacted on instinct. I shielded my body with my arms and felt the attack pelt me.

"Huh?" I expected a lot more pain than that. It hurt a bit, but it wasn't the sort of pain I expected from a place teeming with monsters. I think I can deal with this. I called on more power and sent it flying out of my body. More specifically, my outstretched palms facing her direction.

"Woah!" It missed her, but the pressure from the blast threw off her flight and she nearly crashed into the ground. "That is not how you play this game!" She pointed at me in mid-air like I was being unfair by breaking some rules.

"You didn't say I had to make bullets like you did though." I sighed. The logic of a child is really annoying. I then attempted to replicate her action of making orbs. When I tried to access my power again for increased complexity, a cold feeling washed over my insides.

Sucking in a cold breath of air actually warmed me up. I hoped none of the Kappas saw what came over me. "Alrighty then. I'll keep you company until I win." She grinned and fired more orbs from the sky. From the ground, I tossed just as many orbs as she did and they all offset each other.

It was basically a draw. That draw repeated 5 times before the Kappa became increasingly annoyed until it culminated into a shout. "Take this seriously already!" I scratch the back of my head.

"I am taking this seriously though." It's all I can do to just ward off her attacks like this. Unfortunately, that answer didn't appease her.

Honestly, why am I wasting my time with this again?

"Alright wise guy. I think it's time to wrap this up. I'll win and then you have to listen to obey me!" The smug grin on her face as she pointed at me was a bit worrying. I then remembered that this is a spell card duel.

She hasn't used her spell card. My eyes widened as she pulled hers out. I copied her by pulling mine out as well. Almost simultaneously we shouted the names of our attack.

**"Water Sign "Kappa's Great Illusionary Waterfall!""**

"**Foreign Sign "Fortune's Folly!""**

Both of our spell cards shattered into fine motes of light as power built itself up on our respective sides.

The blue magic bullets are just building up by her side without falling. Continuously increasing the volume and amount by her side until it begins crashing down on me. On my side, my magical bullets have an illusory feel to them.

There was a short, silent moment before the effects of the cards activated. We stared straight at each other, me with trepidation and her with excitement. The Kappas around us were waiting for the outcome of the duel. It was then that our magic rushed at each other.

Her spell card fell down on me while mine rushed up to meet hers, as if to repeat the clashes that resulted in draws earlier. Only something different happened. All of my bullets vanished like they never existed in the first place.

Was it a dud?! I had no time to voice my shock, for the bullets smashed into me and sent me flying . I was lifted off the ground and then I realized that this was really no joke at all. I wasn't taking this seriously enough.

"Is that it? Had enough yet? You can always surrender. I understand if I'm too much for you." She mocks me arrogantly. I smiled. It probably looked like Trash's smile. We had the same face so that much's a given, but the way she looked disgusted upon seeing it told me that our similarities weren't just superficial.

No matter.

All of a sudden, things just snap in place for me. The omnipresent buzzing finally wormed its way in deeper in my brain and some things became just a little bit clearer. It went from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe. If I remember correctly, the parietal lobe is the one that deals with sensory information, language, and calculation visual information. Also has stuff to do with math.

A bunch of random calculations slammed its way into my mind. I feel like a mathematical genius, almost. I got a grasp on everything. I'm going to finish this now. I stood up feeling a confidence that shouldn't have been there. I snapped my fingers.

"_I'm done calculating now._"

It's those words that spell her end. My spell card wasn't over just like that. As a matter of fact, it hasn't even begun yet. With the snap of my fingers the bullets reappeared and forced themselves through the air like they were controlled by strings. They moved erratically as my opponent tried to track them with eyesight.

"So sorry to say, but yeah. I was too much for you."

She tried to dodge as frantically as possible but then a huge swirl of clockwise and counterclockwise bullets spread outward and clipped her. I watch as she falls to the ground. It was an absolute random pattern of chaos that submerged her. This is not supposed to lethal, but it still hurts, right? Ah, they're not human. I'm sure she'll be fine. I don't need to care about her well-being at all.

"It's my win. Hand me the map now." I walk over to her with hands in my pockets. I feel as cool as a cucumber right now. I can barely hold myself back from doing a happy dance to celebrate my victory. Now I'm one step closer to home.

"Fine, fine." The Youkai pouts. She reaches into that hiker bag and pulls out a map of the area. She shows me where I am, where the Hakurei Shrine is, and where I have to go.

"So, it's an all-nighter for me this night." I let out a long sigh. Well, that's nothing new. I'm used to running on little to no sleep quite often actually.

I take the map and wave goodbye to the village as I prepare to leave. Right before I celebrate not getting sodomized, the twin-tailed Kappa calls me out.

"Hey, wait! You need to tell me your name so I can know who to rematch! I'm Kawashiro Nitori!" Do…I have to? Well, it's not like we will ever meet again after this…hopefully.

"I guess I could tell you my name. It's Wil…" Why can't I say my surname? What the hell. I try to say it, but it doesn't feel right, like I can't recognize it as my own? There's that hollow feeling in my chest again.

"_I'll take your name too."_

I calmed myself with a deep breath.

No surnames are necessary here. Besides it's easier to call me by my first name cause of how short it is. It's the perfect name for impatient people such as myself. She attempts to repeat it to herself.

"Wiru?" Absolutely fucking not. Don't you dare butcher such an easy to pronounce name. How did you mix up the L and the R and add a U at the end? Now I know for a fact this is a Japanese place. Still don't understand how we can understand each other.

Another mystery that I don't care to find out, I guess.

"No, Say Wil. Like this." I tell her to repeat three more times and she eventually gets it right. Is there actually a proper reason for why Japanese people cannot pronounce Ls? I remember hearing something about it not being in their alphabet, but it's just movements with your tongue? Whatever, I'm just a filthy American who doesn't understand the nuances of proper language.

"That's too complicated. I'm just gonna call you Fool, for your spell card." F-fool? I've…never had a nickname before. Wait, that's the wrong thing to think! Ugh, it doesn't matter at this point. I just need to leave this place before my sanity leaves my brain. I immediately run south out of the village ignoring all cries for me to wait.

* * *

Let's see…according to this map I relieved Kawashiro of, I need continue to head south through this forest, then I'll reach the foot of the mountain. From there, I can reach the Forest of Magic. "Alright sounds good!"

I roll up the map and place it in my deep pockets. They're so nice and deep. So…deep and nice. So comfortable. I start fantasizing about deep and comfortable pockets. I nearly lose track of where I'm going until I run face first into a tree. The branches fall from the impact and hits me on the head making me dizzy. I shake the dizziness off and remember where I am.

"Constant vigilance!" I yell to myself. I can't afford to go easy on myself at all, especially with my poor luck. I have no idea if it's running on full power or not. The instant sound of rain and thunder answered my question. It still doesn't stop me from walking. All I need to do is cover myself in this power to block off the rain.

I must pain a pretty strange picture to other people here. I can already imagine the thought processes of the locals. A weirdly dressed human is walking through the rain and not getting wet! Sounds interesting right? Well, let's hope they don't find me interesting enough to actually bother me.

This place feels very dreadful, like something's bad on the cusp of happening. It feels like when I just know when something's unlucky is about to spawn on me. I look up and see a flying person descend right in front of me.

**ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ**

"Hold on!" She drops right in front of me and gives of a very menacing aura. Just what is she trying to do. I put my hands in my pockets to get my calm back. All I can do is stare at that purple mist surrounding her and nearing me.

"What is it?" I prepare to square off against her. I hope she just stays away from me.

"You're too close to Youkai Mountain. Begone!" Why are you trying so hard to steer me from a place I literally just came from? I give her a questioning look.

"I just came from there." When I say that in a monotone manner, her menacing aura ceases to exist and she goes quiet. Her eyes go unfocused and then she looks at the ground like she made a mistake.

"Why would I even want to go back in the first place. Besides, you're in my way." I brush past her and start to run to the Forest of Magic. From there, I can go to the human village, which is supposed to be Youkai free. That means that I can get some rest there. With a sense of purpose filling my steps I start to speed up.

"Wait!" Then I trip and fall face-down ass-up. The worst position to fall in period. I stand up with dirt marring my face while I glare at the Youkai who stopped me. She seems to step back and half-heartedly apologizes.

"My bad? Anyways, um…why are you so misfortunate, and why was a human like you at Youkai Mountain?" I didn't hear the second part. All I heard was the first question. There's a person who can sense the misfortune I have? And it actually just wasn't a series of coincidental moments of bad luck? It was real supernatural misfortune?!

I stomp up to her and grip her shoulders with both of my hands. I shake her. "What do you mean why am I so misfortunate?! I was actually born with way with nothing going right for me!" An example of my luck: I win a million-dollar lottery, then I lose the ticket and find out it was in the hands of my brother, who then died before he could cash it in. I was never actually able to cash in the ticket because it was burned along with him. That's the real deal misfortune. I get what I don't want and I never get what I need.

I may have been a bit more emotional than I would've liked. My shaking made the Youkai's voice warble, and her eyes started spinning. I take my hands off of her, like I was touching a hot stove.

She manages to come back to her senses before looking at me deeply.

"I can take your misfortune from you. That's my domain after all. I'm the goddess of misfortune!" She says that and puffs up with pride.

That's a truly a terrible mantle to take on. All I can do is look on her with pity filling my mind. How can someone just be misfortune like that? I can imagine the bad luck that surrounds her. She has absolutely experienced far worse events than I could even dream of. "I'm so sorry for you." I give her my deepest condolences.

"Wait, it's not like that! I don't actually experience the misfortune. I only take it away from others." She corrects me and all of my pity turns into disdain. I can't believe I was tricked by her into giving her my sympathies.

"You don't understand the harshness of bad luck. I feel like an idiot for giving you my pity. Just stay away from me and my bad luck. I'll keep it thank you very much." My irritation seems to shock her and my words shocked her even more.

"Why don't you want your misfortunate drained away? I can take that away and make your life easier. Wouldn't anyone want that?" I wouldn't expect anyone to understand.

"I desire unchanging days." That's all that needs to be said. I walked off and hope she didn't follow me. After hearing no footsteps, I felt comfortable enough to start running again.

A goddess of misfortune? Don't make me laugh. I keep running into more and more supernatural creatures that're trying to destroy my common view of the world. I can't let that disappear. I refuse to let it. Nothing will ever change.

I run off in pursuit of my destination. If she's really a goddess, then she'll be fine by herself. The worst thing in this forest is probably the odd Youkai or any other annoying monsters.

What a complicated feeling I have right now.

I finally reach a clearing. It's a pretty open space with a nice river flowing eastward from here. I pull out the map once more.

"So, once I reach the clearing…I have to continue going east along the river. I'll run into a place called Kourindou?" Not quite in the Forest of Magic but between that and the Human Village. The growling of my stomach distracts me from the map. I'm already getting hungry? I've been up for a while and day hasn't broken yet.

"Guess I'll check out what this Kourindou is. It's shown on the map as a building, but what kind of building?"

* * *

**-Forest of Magic Outskirts-**

**Third Person POV**

A red-haired individual with a white jacket and blue pants is walking through a clearing. He eventually found a road that made his eyes light up. He put away the map and followed the road.

"When I get home, I'm never going to talk shit about my luck ever again." The man has finally learned to no longer taunt Murphy. It's too bad that he's prone to forgetting learned lessons, almost like he has Aesop-Amnesia.

Further away from him is a building named Kourindou. It's connected to a larger house where the storeowner most likely stays in. While Wil is whistling a jaunty to himself, he notices the place at the edge of the road. He jogs up to it and knocks on the door to the store. He waits there for about a minute, then he walks on over to the building connected to it and knocks on it obnoxiously loudly.

A disheveled man comes out of his house putting on his glasses. He has short silver hair and golden eyes. He's wearing a strange combination of western and eastern clothes, being a pair of white boots, blue pants, and a blue and black kimono. He seems annoyed at being woken up so late, but then he sees the strangely dressed man in front of him.

"Excuse me, but who might you be?" His politeness makes the other person smile in relief a bit.

"I'm an outsider." His eyes lose the tiredness he had. "From America." His eyes lit up in excitement. Any lingering traces of sleepiness are gone.

What many people don't know is that the owner of Kourindou, Rinnosuke, is very fond of western technology and culture. He could even be called a Westaboo. He notices Wil staring at a calendar inside his house. Wil's eyes widen and his mouth opens in shock.

He then zeroes in on Rinnosuke with a serious gaze. "Apparently I'm from the future as well. From 2019 to be specific." Rinnosuke looked at him quite baffled.

"Do you have any proof of that?" Wil runs through his pockets looking for his phone, but he doesn't have it with him. He puts his hands up in the air.

"Guess not. Look that's not important. Do you know how I can get to the Human Village from here? There's something I need to check out." Rinnosuke looks at him in concern.

"Don't you need to sleep? It's way past midnight you know?" He looks back at a clock in his house to specifically check the time. It reads 3:34 a.m. "I'll even let you rest in my house. I have an extra futon I can roll out.

"You're…quite kind lady. I don't expect a Youkai like you to show me pure altruism like that. So, what do you want in exchange?" Rinnosuke noticed that the man before him has made an extremely large mistake.

"I'm actually a half-Youkai. The other half of me is human." Wil nods in concession to that. "Also, I'm a man." Wil seems to nod again, but then he stops midway with his jaw dislodging.

"Oh, I see…! Everyone I met since coming in here has been female, so I wrongfully assumed you were as well. My bad." He felt a little bad for calling a man a woman. Some people would get angry at that mistake. He immediately assumed that Rinnosuke was just a lady with more masculine features than most.

"With all the women here, I was thinking of calling it the Land of Lesbians instead of the Land of Illusions." He sighed while looking straight up into the starry night.

Rinnosuke was stuck between laughing and shock at Wil's assumption. His nickname for Gensokyo, whether he came up with it for accident was perfect. He's now going to refer to this place as the land of lesbians from now on. He cannot tell anyone about this.

"So, you're telling me I'm not the only guy here? That there's actually another bro besides me?" He says with hope overwhelming him. Wil is a person who is bad with women. He just always found it easier to get along with guys, not that he batted for the other team or anything like that.

"What's your name!" Rinnosuke is temporarily overwhelmed by the amount of passion in his voice, but he collects himself soon enough.

"I'm Morichika Rinnosuke." Wil nods to himself and repeats the name in his head multiple times to memorize it. A grin makes its way to his face.

"It's nighttime, and I'd like to get back home before day breaks, but the shrine maiden I need to meet is probably sleeping." He contemplated his next choice of action in an instant.

"Alright then. I'm Wil. I'd like to take you up on that offer of sparing me a futon. I could use the sleep before running off." Rinnosuke smiles along with him and lets him in the house. Rinnosuke is thinking of pestering him about Western technology and he wants to ask him about how some of the devices in his shop work.

On the other hand, Wil is thinking of mooching off of him for a free meal and dipping off to the Human Village. From there he has hopes to reach his goal even though in the back of his mind he knows that all he's chasing is a false hope.

Getting back home isn't all he needs.

While Rinnosuke gets out a futon, Wil starts chatting him up. "So, what is Kourindou?" He's curious about the nature of the place. He deduced that it was a store, but he has no idea what it sells.

Rinnosuke's glasses glint with unholy light as he props them up with his fingers. "Ah, well you see, it's a store that sells items from the outside. It can range from heaters to iPods. I know what they do because one of my magical abilities allow me to identify them."

"I see. So, what do you want in return for allowing me to stay. No one is that altruistic, Youkai or not." Wil sees Rinnosuke look at him with a strange smile. He's nearly about to pull out his only spell card before Rinnosuke assuages his worries.

"I just want you to tell me how to use the items in my store. I can identify them, but I actually don't know how to make them work. All I can do is make context clues." Wil realizes that a person from the outside shouldn't actually know how to use the items of the outside. He nods in agreement because it's an easy deal that he can uphold without anything about it going against his morals. _'Well, unless the half-Youkai decides to tie me up and sell me as one of the outside items to his customers,'_ he cynically thinks.

Rinnosuke has finished setting the futon. "Well, that's it. You can use it and wake up whenever you want to. I'll see you later." He goes back to his bedroom and leaves Wil in the living room. He looks at the futon for a while, then he crawls in it and almost immediately goes to sleep.

"I'll get home tomorrow," he says right before he goes to sleep. "I have to." His reaffirmation of his oath almost seems desperate.


	2. Expected Results

Chapter 2

Damn, light's peeking through my eyelids. Time to wake up. I sit up with sluggish movements and realize that I'm not at home. "Where…?" Oh, right. I got warped to Gensokyo last night by something unknown. Let's see…I was wandering through mountains and forests, then I finally reached a place to rest. I probably would have fallen asleep on my way to the Human Village if I continued on my path.

"Time to get up." I fully open my eyes and wipe the sleep out of them. I let out a huge yawn and stretch my back to get all the stiffness out. Once I hear those satisfying pops and cracks, I fall back down like jelly. Cracking my back feels so good.

I look over to see the guy who let me stay about to wake me up. He takes a small step back when he notices that I'm already awake.

"Eh, are you finally up? It's already the afternoon." I hear this guy speaking to me. What was his name again…I'm pretty sure it was something like Kourindou? Nah, that's not right. Morichika Rinnosuke. Yeah, that sounds about right. I eventually stand up and look at him in the eyes. He's just as tall as I am.

"Yeah I'm up. Now let's get this deal out of the way. I don't wanna owe you for any longer than necessary." He looks at me strangely then tells me to follow him.

"I don't have that many things that need to be appraised, but alright." He exits through a door on the side, which connects to his store. I follow him closely and watch his every step. I wonder what the Half-Youkai part of him is? Could he be part Zashiki-warashi? Once we reach the store, we go behind the counter and Morichika pulls something out.

"Yo, is that a gun?" I'm surprised that he even acquired this thing. And he wants me to tell him how to use it? This could be helpful for defense, but I don't think there's any ammo in it. Also, would Youkai even be hurt by regular bullets? They seem to be much more durable than that.

"My magic tells me that this a .44 Magnum, a type of pistol. Apparently, it can release a ball of death that can kill people. It's really dangerous, so I need to know how exactly to use it to defend against it just in case." I take it from his hand and hold it. It's pretty light. Actually, it's really light.

"You don't have to worry. This thing doesn't have the necessary ammo needed to kill or maim. Besides, this thing wouldn't even hurt the weakest Youkai. This is a human weapon made for killing humans." I begin to explain to him how to use it. I show him where to reload and pull the trigger, and assuage his worries of this causing any problems.

He then pulls out something else. "Okay, what the hell is this?" All I feel is shock.

He cheerfully begins to explain what this technological monstrosity he pulled out in front of my eyes is. The mechanical abomination that's been put into my eyes is a violation of reality. I can feel the cursed aura seeping through my soul and corrupting my misfortune even further.

"This is called a Tomatan. According to my magic, it can feed you endless food until you explode. It's quite interesting, but I don't know how to engage the machine to start feeding." Wait, I think I've seen this before. This is one of those weird Japanese inventions isn't it.

It looks so weird. It has a Tomato with a face sitting on top of your head and on the back of your head rests its body which should be where the food is stored. Then the arms are just hanging loose ready to grab what's in its body. This is an affront to existence.

"All right, from what I've analyzed, this thing just feeds you food, but not until you explode. I think you have to give it some batteries for it to work though. Actually, just destroy this thing! It looks so weird. It's also useless!" The moment I told him that, he holds the abominable machine to his chest and protects it from me. He's treating this thing like it's his own child. I just shake my head and tell him to pull out the next one.

While he's searching for something I notice a comic book sticking out. "Wow, you actually read DC Comics?" I pull it out much to his dread and begin opening it up. I actually don't read comics all that often. I prefer manga over it any day of the week. It doesn't mean that I won't use it to stave off boredom.

"NO!" When I start to read it, he yanks it straight out of my hands with speeds surpassing the speed of light. He moved so fast that I thought he actually just went back in time before the Big Bang and waited up until now to take it from me. That was a ridiculous reaction from him. I look at him with numb surprise in my eyes.

"What's so bad about reading comics? You just have it as a hobby, right?" He freezes up in the middle of putting it back where I found it. He was stuffing it deeper when he heard my words.

"Yeah, that's right. It's just a hobby I have on the side." He sighs in relief, thinking that I'm not suspicious of his behavior at all. Is it illegal to own comics in Gensokyo or something? I wouldn't be surprised to be honest.

I look around some more, and then my eyes lock onto a sheathed sword. Morichika sees where my eyes are and picks up the sword. "Why do you have a sword randomly laying about? Is that for sale or something?" It's a typical katana that can be found anywhere.

He's looking at it with fond eyes. "This isn't for sale at all. This is my sword. Something that belongs to me now and until death." That sounded like a solemn oath he made there. After that little moment, he goes back to his normal friendly self.

"Now, I think it's time for you to check out the rest of my wares."

He's about to show me some other things when we hear the sound of the bell jingling and the door opening. It's a blondie with a witch hat and a broom. Don't tell me she actually flies with that. Morichika here is a bit slow on the uptake so I respond to her.

"Welcome to the bread store. We sell bread, we sell loafs. We got bread on deck, bread on the floor. What will be your order miss?" The witch looks bamboozled while Morichika begins to collect himself from my greetings to a prospective customer.

He then double-takes at a loaf of bread in my hand. I literally created it out from my Dark Matter ability to mess with him. It's probably not edible though.

"When did you…how did you…? I don't even have any bread… Wait, what even is that? That's not bread!" He looks truly lost at what I did. Did I break him on accident? It was just a joke! And what does he mean it isn't bread? It looks exactly like…oh.

It's falling apart and melting into shadows. I guess that's why he could tell it isn't bread. I need to get some more control, I guess. "That's where you're wrong buddy. This is Dark Bread, made from collecting the shadows of over a thousand Youkai." He probably knows I'm just bullshitting him.

"Hey Kourin, who's this guy you picked up? He seems kinda interesting-ze." That little thing she added at the end, if that's a speech pattern, then it's going to be extremely annoying. At least blondie managed to grab his attention and revive him from his uninstallation of system 32.

"He's just a helper. What is it you are here for Marisa?" He seems a little bit stiff. Does he not like being around this girl or something? Oh, maybe he has a crush on her! Nah, that couldn't be it, but they do have a relationship of some sorts. There's also the nickname this Marisa used for him. So much originality through, calling him Kourin.

"I got some stuff I wanna trade!" She pulls out a random assortment of goods that have been most likely stolen from others. There are some random machinery lying about, and…a book? "How much is all this stuff worth?" Those machines are pretty expensive from what I see.

Wait, where the hell did she pull that out from?! Now I'm the one doing a double-take at this. Do people actually possess hammer space in this world? I need to learn how to do that. I want to learn how to do that so badly now!

Let's first take a look at what she brought out though.

There's a mini-heater, a mini-fridge, and some rather assortment of mechanical parts that can be used to build stuff. There's also that book with foreign text on it. I look at Morichika keeping a stiff face while he appraises everything.

"This is worth about two-thousand yen." He says something so shameless and ridiculous that it makes me choke on air. This guy isn't stiff with her at all! He's just trying to con the shit out of her! God damn, you are the best! But…do you think she'll take that deal? No one's that stupid, right?

"Wow, really? Thanks, Kourin-ze!" She took it like a dumbass. That's a sucker's deal right there and she bit onto it like delicious bait. "So, what do ya got in store?" She looks at everything for sale and grabs a single item. She pays him the necessary price after picking it up.

Both Morichika and I just keep silent as she walks out waving goodbye. It's a good thing she didn't get curious about me because I could barely contain myself. That. Was. Hilarious.

"Are you serious?!" The moment she leaves, I say that in between laughter. I couldn't hold myself back anymore. Morichika's face only looks even more like a stone statue as he turns to me. "You really are great, conning someone like that so expertly." I praise him, which probably fills him with shame. He gets a thumbs up from me.

"I feel so guilty!" He balls his hand into a fist as he collapses on his knees. He looks so exaggeratedly devastated about what he did. "I shouldn't do it, but I just do it. Barely anyone comes here, so I have little money to buy things!" He rationalized himself back to complacency and stands up as he looks on at me rolling on the floor laughing my ass off.

"How long are you going to keep laughing like this. Come on and tell me how to use these things already." He's getting a little irritated with me. I have to pull myself together, but giggles keep escaping me.

"Hold…on. It's just that I've never seen anyone so gullible. Like taking candy from a baby, right?" I grin at him. Those two must actually be friendly with each other if this guy isn't worried about retaliation when she finds out.

He shows me the heater and the fridge and I just explain to him how to use it. "Hmm, I thought these were weapons to burn and freeze your targets." Well yes, but actually no! In a way, he might actually be right, but he's still so damn wrong. That ability of his seems so useful, but it's actually super gimmicky. What if he appraised a gameboy and it his magic described it as an omnipotent tool that could control the world?!

I look through all the stuff that witch dumped on us and stumble across the book that caught my attention initially.

"Hey, that book…can I have it?" He looks at it weirdly and just hands it to me. The cover is written in some hieroglyphic chicken scratch that's completely unintelligible to me. Probably why the witch handed it over. I might get cursed if I even open it. Ah well, doesn't matter right now. Guess I'll keep it on me for later.

Just wanted it out of curiosity. Besides, it could help me block a bullet if I keep it on my chest. That's how it works, right?

"So, am I done paying you back for the sleepover? I still need to head over to the village filled with actual humans sometime this day." As soon as possible that is. Morichika rolls his head for a bit, probably thinking if there's anything else he needs me to explain for him. That stupid looking stray strand of hair is moving back and forth. It makes me want to rip it off.

"That's about it. You can go now. Oh, but if you do decide to stay in Gensokyo, you can always come back here any time!" He says to me with hope. I guess he might not get that many customers. I don't plan on staying here though.

"Oh, wait!" I look back at him. His palm is open with coins in his hands. "I'll give you 300 yen for helping me out." I'm just going to divide by a hundred to compare it to US dollars. That's cheap as hell, but I was repaying a favor. Money is money I guess. I take it and prepare to leave.

"I'll think about visiting if I do end up staying here." I wave while I walk away from him. I open the door to a bright sun and continue on the road to the Human Village. According to my map, it's just a straight walk from here then I'll near a gate to the village itself. I'll just run all the way there to speed it up. Actually, I'll use my Dark Matter to make me run faster.

"Let's accelerate!" I found out that running my ability through my body just boosts my physical stats all around. Speed, durability, and power. All I need to do is keep this up while I run and I'll be kicking up dust like Sonic. This feeling of the wind blowing through my body is…cold as shit! Why the hell is it snowing all of a sudden?!

When I checked the calendar, the date was December of 2002. So, I guess it should be snowing, but I still hate it! It's a good thing that I'm wearing my hoodie, otherwise I'd begin hibernation in Kourindou until winter ended. I wonder if I can heat myself up with Dark Matter. Just gotta create an energy that doesn't exist that'll heat me up. Give it a nice toasty temperature…and there!

I'm getting better at controlling this ability, but if I had to throw it away to get home, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm no Yoshikage Kira, but even I want to live a quiet and peaceful life. I'm not from this world. I never should have come here in the first place. All I'm doing is correcting an anomaly, that anomaly being myself in this world.

"Ragh, a human!" A growl of something made me snap out of my thoughts and turn around. The hell is this thing? It's literally a dog with wings. Come on, Japan. At least show some creativity. I stare at the thing that demanded me to stop.

"What do you want?" It's trying to assume a menacing posture to put fear into me. It really isn't working that well. After running from a gigantic toad and being raided by a Kappa's endless magic balls, nothing should really surprise me that much anymore.

"I'm getting a bit hungry, and there haven't been any travelers to eat." It licks the saliva dripping of its lips. "But you're an Outsider and that means you're free game." My eyes widen in shock.

So at first I was curious and it had my attention. Now I'm alarmed and he's gained my ire.

Is there some rule where Outsiders are allowed to be indiscriminately attacked by Youkai or something? That actually pisses me off a bit. "Alright then. Tell me exactly what type of Youkai you are, before I blow you away." I create a mini tornado in my hand. Just let me create something that can cause a shockwave.

"I'm a Hainu." Its eyes widen in anticipation as it buckles its legs. "And I'm gonna devour you bones and all!" It leaps straight at me. Right into the path of my hand as I let loose the blast of wind at its face. I blow its body right through the air, sending it much further than I anticipated. The blast is furrowing the ground through the Forest to the side. I accidentally left a large crevice spanning from where i am throughout a large section of the forest.

The poor trees.

"Oops." I apologize without any feeling into it. I may feel a little bad for messing up nature like that, but I don't feel bad for knocking around a murderous flying rat. I at least hope it's still alive. All life is precious after all. Wait…based on Danmaku rules it should safe no matter how much power I put into it. As long as I don't turn it lethal, then it should be fine. There should be no problem then. Just have to make sure to keep it nonlethal.

* * *

**-Human Village-**

I've finally made it to the Human Village I hope. I see a gateway and some guards standing around. I walk closer and they notice me. They wave me over cautiously while making sure I don't get too close. Are Outsiders really that unwanted here, or do they think I could be a Youkai in disguise? If I remember correctly, Kitsunes could disguise as humans.

"You there! What's your purpose for entering this village!" A man standing above six feet looms over me, questioning my reasons for coming here. Wait...more guys?! I can keep these guys in mind for bro activities. There needs to be more guys here doing stuff. All the estrogen in the air is going to murder me. Morichika saved me, and these guys will save me too!

"I want to leave Gensokyo, and I heard that the shrine near here could help me with that." His eyes light up and the rest of the guards relax their posture. These guys trust my words just like that? That could be a simple lie, and they believed that?! I wouldn't be surprised if there were some Youkai sneaking about in this village.

"I had a feeling you were an Outsider. The shrine you're referring to is the Hakurei Shrine at the back of the village. You just need to go up a long stairway to reach it." He smiles as me disarmingly and welcomes me into the village.

I'm walking through the village, and I actually see a normal ratio of men to women. There are more women, but at least it's not the staggering difference I thought it was. Still doesn't change the fact that the majority of people here are women! Wait...since the legal age of alcohol is twenty in Japan, that means I can do bar crawling! Meh, doesn't matter anyway since I'm leaving soon.

This village is extremely peaceful. Everyone is smiling and helping each other out with no sneaky under-the-table deals going on at all. No one asks for any favors and they just help each other out because it's the right thing to do. It's so beautiful. It's so...off-putting. Yeah, that's the right feeling. It's amazing, but that's not what I'm used to. This isn't not my home.

I just can't get used to people who aren't on guard at all. This Gensokyo is just too open for a person like me. It's much easier to deal with dishonest snakes then honest innocents. At least you know what to expect from the snakes. This place is just…off-putting for me. Yeah, I definitely need to go back home. Back to where the heart is. _Even if there's nothing left for me…_

I'm so close now. I've reached the stairs, but the steps are so numerous. I can't even see the top. Well, I better start hiking up these stairs if I want to get home sooner or later. I walk slowly and steadily up each step while I think about my future. When I get home, what should I do?

"I wonder if someone filed a missing person report to the police. Who am I kidding, no one would notice me gone." I chuckle deprecatingly to myself. I'm curious if the black hole is going to suck me back again when I make it home. That would be an interesting cycle of leaving and being forced to return.

While I'm walking, I hold my hand up to my chin and fantasize about my next moves. There're endless possibilities for me. I've been waddling in complacency for a long time at home. Maybe I should get off my ass and actually put some spirit into my ambition. I want to live a life of no regrets, and I'm doing the exact opposite. I'm being bogged down by regrets.

I've finally made it up mind. I'm going to actually do something with my life and bring some spirit into it. I reach the top of the stairs with renewed vigor and hope. There's no one here, so they must be inside the shrine itself. On my way over there, I spot a donation box.

"I guess I could give some money." I recall Morichika handing me 300 yen, so I'll drop a 100 in here. I have no idea how much I'm supposed to actually donate. I don't know religion at all, much less the Japanese one. I toss a single 100-yen coin into the wooden box.

All of a sudden, a wild Shrine Maiden appears before me and looks into the box. She then turns to me with hope in her eyes that makes me pull back a step. She's wearing red and white with a ribbon on her dark hair. Dark-red eyes as well proves that she isn't normal in the slightest.

"Thanks for the donation!" She gives a bow with a smile still on her face. Right, well I need to ask her to send me back to my home and my time period. "So, what do you need?"

"You are Hakurei Reimu, yeah?" She gives me a nod. Alright, I've finally made it. All I feel is total relief. "I was taken from my home and got dropped on a mountain. All the other Youkai call me an Outsider, so I need you to send me back." At this, her face falls in annoyance.

"Again…?" She murmurs to herself. I should also clarify that I'm from the future as well.

"Not only was I taken from my home, but I was taken from my time as well. I was living in 2019, but now I found out that I'm stuck in Gensokyo in the year 2002. So, could you send me back to my future?" Hakurei here actually recoils a bit in shock from my statement.

"Are you serious? Wait, hold on." She dons a serious look and goes inside the shrine. That doesn't sound like a good sign, but this is Gensokyo right? This land of fantasy should have many impossible things. So, sending me back should be doable here, right?

Hakurei comes out with a purple-clothed woman wearing a stupid looking hat. I think I recognize her as well? Was she Yukari, or something along those lines? She looks to be tired, and she probably wasn't filled in. She's being grabbed and pulled over to where I'm standing.

"Who is this Reimu?" She asks the shrine maiden tiredly.

"He's another Outsider. Apparently, from the future." She replies grumpily. At this, Yukari loses all trace of exhaustion and turns to me with a strange look in her eyes. I don't appreciate the way that I'm being analyzed like this.

"Look, I just want to know if you can send me back. Say yes or no. No other answer is necessary." I don't care if I sound rude at this moment in time. I just want my hopes to be fulfilled or crushed. But…knowing my bad luck. Even if it was taken away, it will always return to me. I'm nothing more than a human of calamity. My very existence is disastrous.

"It's impossible. I didn't even notice another Outsider here, much less one that proclaims he's from the future." So…I'm stuck here. In this goddamn forsaken land where I don't want to be. I put my hands in the pockets of my jacket, but I can't keep the darkness from seeping out of them. I notice that they look at my pockets, but I don't care. I walk down the stairs rigidly, ignoring everything around me.

"Hey, wait!" There may have been a person calling out to me, but I don't pay it any mind. I mechanically walk down the long stairway back down to the Human Village. Deep down, I really knew what would await me. If there's one thing that I can always count on, it's for my luck to always be there. No way in hell would it let me get an easy way out.

I pull both my hands out of my pockets and crack my fingers. I let out a deep breath once all the bones are loose and limber. I'm not calm. I'm not calm at all. I'm extremely bothered to say the least. I'm stuck here, and the worst part is that I don't entirely hate it. Was I really that rejected by my own world that I rejected it in turn? Is that why I was brought here?

I ball up my right hand into a fist so hard that my nails dig into my palm and make it bleed. I then see a spell card start to spawn in the bleeding hand. I recognize the familiar show of magic. "Hahaha…let's read it then." I murmur just a bit unhinged to myself.

**Crisis Sign "Adversity Reaches The Turning Point Of Continuity"**

Oh my god, how fitting! It's so fitting that all I can do is laugh! Is my life some kind of cosmic joke? No, that would be too arrogant of me to assume. What kind of cosmic power would even care about a worthless, pitiful person like me? The card vanishes into nothing, but ready to be called upon when necessary.

That's fine then! I'll find my own way home. It doesn't matter if anyone else can't do it, but I definitely can. After all, I have nothing to lose! I widen my eyes and laugh heartily at this realization. I laugh and laugh until my throat is raw and bloody.

"That's right, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain! I'll just jump into the fray! I have to hold on to that pitiful hope to succeed. No matter how many times I may seem to fail, I will always get up and continue to live my life to the fullest." That's all this Wil can do.

* * *

I say that, but look at me now. I'm sitting in a tavern eating a meal with the 200 yen I have left. Now, what should I do from now one. At least this place serves coffee. They also serve green tea, but all tea tastes like shit.

Now that I'm a bit calmer, I can actually afford to think calmly. I'm no longer in a rush to get home, nor am I that distraught over being met with a huge wall. I need to analyze this world first. Since Gensokyo is actually fictional from where I come, that means if Hakurei does send me out of here, I'll end up in the outside world.

That outside world is still a part of Touhou, which is still fiction. I won't be any closer to my own reality. What I need to do is mimic what the weird dark hole did to me. I need to research and study my Dark Matter ability to see if I can do the same thing. If that doesn't work then I need to research a lot of magic.

Hmm…I put my hand on my chin. I wonder if using magic will cause a backlash on me because of my Esper ability. That's how it worked in the Raildex verse, but the magic here most likely operates on different rules. I gotta check it out first before making any decisions.

I leave the tavern and walk around the village. I observe the villagers and their mental state. They seem to be pretty satisfied with all the smiling they're doing. They truly enjoy working hard. This amount of honesty and dedication is too pure for a corrupt person such as myself. All I know is the way of the nine-to-five worker and sucking up to bosses. I actually got fired for shit-talking my former boss to his face.

He was a piece of shit though. Ah, that's enough stalling. I need to form a plan of action. One that I can use my diligence to follow through on.

Alright, I think I'll head back over to Kourindou and see if Morichika can help me learn magic, or at least find a place to research it. I also need to check out Youkai Mountain because that's where I was originally dumped. Maybe there's some residue of some sort that I can analyze from that darkness. This is good. I'm finally starting to draft together a semblance of a plan.

Then there's this book… The language is a bit unfamiliar, but I do recognize it. The title of the book is written in Ancient Egyptian. The only reason why I recognized it is because of just some random trivia i found out about. Everyone has those moments where they wander around the internet and find weird shit.

The letters have an extremely unique shape that are basically hieroglyphics and pictures of animals, such as birds, sphinxes, and weird looking snakes. Well, just because I know the language, doesn't mean I'm fluent in it.

I know some letters that I can almost translate, but I need to get a dictionary to transcribe this book. I'll put that on the backburner for now. I hope I don't cause an incident here while I'm working towards my goal at least. I don't want a midget maiden after my ass. It'll be very inconvenient.

I pay the tab and don't leave a tip because I'm an asshole, or I'm broke. Take your pick. Just kidding, your opinion doesn't matter because I always assume the worse! Well, I've made it to the Human Village and I already have to leave on the same day. There's something poetic about this, I'm sure of it. Probably the fact, oh I don't know, that I actually enjoyed coming to here and leaving here rather than staying here?!

I'm still bitter about my predicament. I'm not blind enough to think that there are some people that would welcome being in a fictional world. There are also others who would rather stay in their world. Then there are people like me, who just feel conflicted. Things would be so much more easy and clear-cut, so much more black and white if I never met Morichika or Kawashiro. The act of talking to someone creates a bond, and those things are hard to break.

Forming attachments here will make it much harder to leave even when I have the opportunity to do so. Maybe I should make a bunch of enemies or make acquaintances with people who will despise me or dislike me. That will give me a reason to leave Gensokyo, right? That should give me the drive to focus my efforts on leaving. What I truly fear isn't being stuck here.

It's gaining the desire to stay here and forgetting about my origins. I was born in the real America, so I want to die in the real America. It's the place where my grandparents were born and where my brother was born. They wished for me to look past my misfortune and truly live my life to the fullest no matter the challenges that faced me. I won't do it for myself, I'll do it for them. What they wished for, I have to see it through.

"But first, I gotta mooch off of Morichika." I say cheerfully to myself. I'm already on the road towards his place. There's still daylight to burn, so he should be awake around this time. I wonder if he's taking on any employees. He should be willing to take me in cause he needs Outsiders to identify how to use his inventory.

* * *

**-Kourindou-**

Alright, I've made it back to his doorstep. Would he be at his shop, or his house? Guess I'll knock on the store and open it. The sound of the bells alerted the person behind the counter to my presence. I close to door silently as I look him in the eyes. I put both my hands in my pockets and give him a wide-eyed smile. "So, you hiring?"

"What?" My question really surprised him there. His glasses are drooping off of his face from that. He quickly readjusts it like every anime character does, with two fingers at the center point and pushing them up. You can't forget the lens flare that makes them look really cool. This guy has it down to an artform.

"What about going back to your home?" He seems a bit serious about my question. An honest question deserves an honest answer.

"They can't take me back. Neither the purple one nor the red and white one is capable of doing so." Of course, that wasn't the whole truth, but it's not like I lied. Just telling him that is enough to groan.

"You were serious about being from the future?" I give him a nod with a smirk. I wonder how annoyed he feels that I was actually telling him the whole truth there. All of a sudden, his eyes light up.

"That means that there are new inventions, new machines and technology! Do you have anything from your time?!" Sorry bud, I was going to sleep, so I didn't even have my phone on me at the time. He side-eyes me with a doubtful gaze.

"You're not trying to hoard the good stuff from me…are you?" A menacing aura fills the room. I can feel the dread inching up my back very quickly. What the hell? Is this guy actually really strong? Strong enough to be compared to a goddess?

ゴゴゴゴ

ゴゴゴゴ

I have to tell him an integral truth about myself then. "Listen dude. I'm a person who never lies. As a matter of fact, I've never lied once in my entire life." I say a bit surprised myself. I just realized that. Looking back on every moment I can remember in my life, I've never told a single lie. That's kind of surprising. I must be more naïve and more idealistic then I first thought.

There may be a time where I lie in the future, but I haven't yet. It's not that I hate lies or anything, it's just that I never really saw the need to. If I do lie, then I must make sure that It'll never be found out.

My words seem to have cut through the extremely tense room. The imposing aura disappeared like it was never there and he continues to smile at me. "Well, you're hired. But I do want to hear about technological advances in the future. Also, tell me how the western countries are doing!" Why does he want to know how the future of the European and the United States?

At least that's what I think he means when he talks about the Western Nations. Well, I guess I could fill him in. I'll just tell him the good stuff and skip out on all the shitty stuff in the future. He doesn't really need to know the bad stuff because he's probably not gonna leave Gensokyo.

Ah, that's right! "Hey Morichika! Do you participate in Spell Card Battles?" It was a simple question born out of curiosity, but that seemed to have unnerved him greatly. I show him both of the Spell Cards I have.

"Sorry…but I don't participate in them." He says in a tone that conveys that he doesn't want to talk about this anymore. So, he doesn't do Danmaku, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have any spell cards. I want to get to the bottom of this, but not today.

"Alright, I was just curious anyway." He sighs in relief at me dropping the subject. So, tell me what I should do as your new employee." He lights up at a way to improve his store. I wonder why he started this little shop at this corner of Gensokyo. It's in between the Forest of Magic ganks and the Human Village of disappointment. I think my nicknames are on point. I nod in agreement with myself.

"Well, whenever we get a new item, I'll analyze it and your job will be to explain the function of the object. For those you can't explain, you'll be required to figure out how they work." Seems simple enough.

"When do we start then?" Today or tomorrow? This day is almost over, but maybe there will be customers coming in late?

* * *

**Morichika Rinnosuke POV**

"Today, of course!" I finally got myself an employer. It's pretty shocking, but nice enough to have some company. Soon, Kourindou will be the most famous store in Gensokyo. My antique store will be a living legend. Muahaha!" At long last, my dream is finally coming closer to fruition!

"Yo, can you stop the creepy deranged laughter?" Ah, I accidentally let that slip. At least he's not questioning me on it. Like when he dropped the earlier subject. I do have spell cards and he probably knows it, or at least believes I do. There's just no longer a need for me to fight. I'm a peaceful person now.

"Ah, sorry. I was getting a bit excited." I still want this store to be a legend. I owe it to Marisa's father at least. He took care of me, so I'll make a lot of money and help out his store. Maybe he can be the best store, and I'll be number two? That day is probably a bit further away. He's still human, so I have to do it in his lifetime.

"Oh yeah, Morichika can you teach me the most basic magic ever? There's something I need to test." He said that with a strange tone. Hmmm, the most basic magic... I think I have a little book that can teach that specific one. Just need to take it out of this large pile of antiques.

"Do you really need to dig through all that garbage for it?" He says a bit doubtfully. How dare he refer this collection of antiques to garbage. I glare at him for his accusations and he looks a bit sheepish. I accept that unspoken apology. Most people can't see the value in these things, but I will spread it! Ah, here it is.

"This is it. Reading through this book will teach you the spell that allows you to analyze things." He tilts his head to the right.

"Like you do?" An acceptable misunderstanding.

"Not like me. What I do is a unique ability that allows me to know the name and to a limited extent, the function of an item. This magic spell allows one to analyze things to know the makeup and components of something or someone."

"That sounds like Structural Grasp!" He cheerfully exclaims. He seems to be familiar with this type of spell? Does he know magic? Wait, of course he does. He does have spell cards on him.

"This is actually called Scan." He murmurs something about generic names when I tell him the name of the spell. How rude. Simplicity is the pinnacle of magic and technique.

He takes the book and begins reading through it swiftly. His eyes trace through every line deeply and with quick speeds as he turns the page. He finishes the book in under a minute and begins preparing to cast the spell.

"Shit. I should have known that I'm unlucky enough for the magic system to be the same or at least similar enough to screw me over." What?! He just coughed up blood? I look at him in shock as I pull out a handkerchief to clean him up.

"What happened." I say with a tone that brokers no avoiding this discussion at all. I must know if my employee has any underlying sickness, or if he has any allergies to certain magic. To be honest, I'm also worried about his mental state. A person who deeply wants to return to his home, yet can't go back…I can empathize a bit.

"Nah, it's nothing." I glare at him and he shuts up and begins explaining himself properly. "Well, I actually can't do magic without a backlash. The spell worked, but because of the nature of my body, using magic actually sends my body into discord." My eyes widen in shock.

"What do you mean the nature of your body?" He chuckles and looks me in the eye as he hands the book back to me. Could he have some nonhuman blood inside of him that rejects magic? Is there a type of Youkai that has a problem with magic?

"I'm an Esper." Esper…isn't that something to do with extrasensory perception? And he's one of these people? What does that have to do with the backlash of magic?

"The type of Esper I am isn't like what the books say. I'm a real one. The true Esper that isn't written in the hypotheses and theories.. We each have one special ability unique to us that can range from something has overpowered as complete Vector Control to something as weak as making water warmer." Wil begins a general explanation of apparently, the "real" Espers.

"What does that have to do with you having a rejection of magic like that though?" He lets out a deprecating chuckle at this.

"Magic and Espers are completely incompatible. What Espers use for their abilities, the Mana magicians use for their abilities… They just cannot mix at all. There should be a small chance for me to do it because nothing is impossible in this land of fantasy, right?" Now I know that I have to keep him away from casting magic in the future.

"This is a very interesting topic." That giggling…is that Yakumo? Wil also turns to the direction of the laughter and we both see her gap. The eyes in there always never fail to unnerve me greatly.

* * *

**Wil POV**

The hell? Why is she here? "Hey Morichika, why is she here?" He looks at me helplessly. I didn't want to inform her of Espers because she's completely untrustworthy. People who smile like that are definitely not to be trusted at all.

"She usually comes by once a month. She's also a supplier for me." He replies shamelessly. Wonderful. I turn my eyes onto her. She's just staring at me with a smile that doesn't seem like it'll drop anytime soon.

"Just how long have you been there?" I bite the bullet and ask her because Morichika, the coward, refuses to. She pulls out a fan and covers the lower half of her face with that. Alright, I'm gonna stop your right there.

"Do you even know what you look like right now?" She seems a bit curious at my line of questioning. "You look like a total clown. That little high-class lady act you got going on for you doesn't do what you think it does." I hear the sound of Morichika choking on air. The purple eyesore puts the fan away and her smile seems to gain a little edge.

I just give her a lazy grin. I feel good for at least making her get a little upset. Not enough for her to drop the act, but just enough to give me satisfaction. "So, what do you want?" I jump right into the main question.

"I want to know more about your version of Espers. I've never heard of them." So, curiosity. Yeah, I guess I could tell you…not!

"Eh? Why should I even bother telling you anything at all. You sneakily heard the general explanation and you want more? Just how greedy are you woman? I'm surprised you aren't bloated and obese with all the information you must have collected around Gensokyo." She wants something without offering anything in return? Do you know how this world works, you naïve idiot?

"Uh, Wil? Maybe you should…not make her mad?" I look at him in confusion. Then I look back at her whose smile has darkened. I think I saw a minor twitch there. Let me think back a bit…Outsiders aren't protected and can be ganked by Youkai. This lady is a Youkai. Ergo, she can probably gank me anytime she wants.

"Don't care. She can at least ask a simple question that I won't mind answering. Besides the information about Espers don't even matter. It's actually completely pointless." I'm most likely the only Raildex Esper that will wind up here in Gensokyo.

"Then I'll ask you a simple question then. You referred to the power of Espers. Just how strong are you compared to a regular one?" So, she wants to measure my power…? I guess I can give her the ranking run down.

"Let me explain the rankings. There are Espers who range from level one to level five. When I mentioned Vector Control, that was actually the strongest Esper power. For example, that ability can allow you to completely stop the Earth's rotation and use the energy to chuck a building faster than light. It's a power that can truly destroy the world." That little tidbit of info seems to have caught both of their interests.

"All level fives have the ability to completely dominate in their field. They are required to at least take down an entire country's army." I'm building up my own hype. I may not be an Accelerator, but I can be a Kakine!

"Are you on the ranks of these level fives then? You're staying on the topic, so you're most likely around that level, right?" Purple lady interrupted me. I clap for her.

"Wow. Way to go. Nice deduction. Totally hard to figure that one out." I sarcastically praise her for a really easy guess that anyone could have figured out. I should stop trying to piss her off, but it's too funny. "I'll tell you my exact power." Before she decides to stomp me into the ground. I don't have a clue how strong she is, so i just won't risk it at all.

"If Vector Control is number one, then I am number two." That genuinely shocked Morichika there. Yukari only looks mildly intrigued. There's no way that I'm going to tell them what I can do though.

"So, what is your ability then?" This time Morichika was the one to ask me. I can tell them the name, but knowing the name won't even get them close to what it can actually do. The name is actually a bit deceptive of its true nature. Tricking people without lying is my specialty.

"My ability is called Dark Matter. You two should be smart enough to figure out what it can do." I can catch the exact moment when the figurative lightbulb dinged upon their heads. They think that they figured out what my ability can do, but they're dead wrong. I let out a smile at this.

"Well, this conversation has been enlightening. I do hope you enjoy your stay in Gensokyo, Wil." She ominously leaves through the strange looking hole in reality with eyes filling it. When I first saw it, I thought it was my ticket home, but then I realized that it's different.

"Did you ever tell her your name?" Morichika asks me when she finally departs. I don't think I did. She must've found out through the Kappa.

"Simple fear tactic. She tries to make me think that she knows everything about me when she really doesn't. She knows jack shit. No need to focus on her anymore. Let me explain everything you have in here." We go in the back of the store and he opens the door to a whole room of junk. I see a CRT TV, and a really old ass computer. Is that an IBM 5100?

"Damn, you have some ancient antiques from here. Some of these are from the technological dinosaur age." I say with an amazed tone. Any true collector would be greatly impressed by Morichika's stock of stuff. He turns to me with a smile.

"I need you to explain everything here." That's a lot of shit to explain. I really don't wanna. That's actually too much. I better get paid for this…

We come out of that dusty room. Morichika is filled with energy while I'm drained like a zombie. I collapse on the counter and prepare to close my eyes when Morichika taps me on the shoulder. I look over to him with a dead face.

"If you tell me to explain other things. I'll show you why I'm the second strongest…!" I groan with anguish. His smile doesn't wane in the slightest.

"It's time for us to close shop. You don't have a place to stay, do you?" Why ask me what you already know. "In that case, why don't you stay at my place? I have an extra room that can be used for guests." Tempting offer. I can either take him up on that, or go back to the Youkai Mountain and chill with the Kappas.

"I'll take you up on this offer. I refuse to get sodomized! Oh, by the way…" He turns to me with a curious look. This is gonna be good. "Morichika—" "Call me Rinnosuke." He just cut me off because he wants me to call him by his given name. I guess this means we're friends now?

"Alright, Rinnosuke. Would you be interested in participating in a bit of fun? It's perfect behavior for your Youkai half." He looks over to me, almost dreading what I have to say. His desire to know betrays him and he gives in to the temptation.

"What kind of fun would this be?" Hook.

"The type of fun involving messing with the local Youkai and bullying them. Some of them like to kill and eat Outsiders, so we can clean them out." I say with a grin. Line.

"Only when we close shop." He says with resignation. He's trying to pretend like he's unwillingly being dragged into my shenanigans so he can blame me when we get in over our heads, _which will definitely happen_. What a sneaky snake you are. Sinker.

Alright, I got a friend to help me knock these evil Youkai around and make them stop eating the Outsiders. We can start with the Forest of Magic because it's closest. Youkai Mountain will definitely be last. I may or may not still be terrified of the gigantic toad. I'm also a bit curious at how this guy fights. He's not going to do spell card battles but he's still willing to bully the bullies with me.

"Now come on. Don't you want some food to eat?" Oh, inviting me for dinner. You shouldn't have. I smile at his offer and gleefully take him up on it. I am a little hungry I guess. Tomorrow is when I start my plan to get home!


	3. Wings

Chapter 3

I woke up pretty early today, though not as early as Rinnosuke. I got up at eight in the morning while he got up two hours earlier. Last night got a bit wild when I told him what happened when I first arrived here.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Did I never tell you what happened when I first got here?" He shakes his head no while he's barely eating. "It was pretty crazy. I got creeped out by fairies, chased by one fat toad, and nearly skewered by a dog girl." He nearly choked on his food when I mentioned the toad. Is it famous or something?

"You mean the Giant Toad at the pond? The same on one Youkai Mountain?!" I nod my head with hesitance. He lets out a sigh. Seems like the toad is pretty famous in Gensokyo. I wonder what exactly it is?

"You're an idiot. He only attacks those who disrupt his home." I become a bit indignant at being called an idiot. I didn't even do anything though! I just went there and made a shockwave…oh.

"I didn't mean to though. He also croaked really loudly behind me so I overreacted and blasted him away. That's when he got mad and started chasing me down the mountain. That's also when I met the furry." He stopped me right there.

"I think we need to teach you about this place. First of all, don't call the furred Youkai furries. That will make them mad." Really? I guess I can't call them scalies either.

"How mad?" I ask in confusion.

"Immensely." He said with a dreadful tone. I wonder if he made the same mistake as well? The only way that would be possible would be if he wasn't originally from Gensokyo. "What else did you run into?"

"Ass-sucking turtle monsters that took the form of little girls." My words made him slam his drink down from choking again. He looks at me and looks down and looks back to me with his finger on his mouth. He finally speaks with a bit of hesitation.

"You mean…Kappas?" He says it like he doesn't want to think that's what I'm referring to. I don't blame him Unfortunately, I have to dash his hopes and say yes, that that was I was talking about. I don't know what else to refer them as. Little girls wearing hiker outfits, a hat, and a backpack? You know what, that may have actually been a better description.

"Yeah, those guys. I had to do a spell card battle to make one of them give me a map and let me go. They tried to get me to stay a night with them. Like I'd fall for that trap and get my ass sodomized." I say that with pride due to the fact that I defeated one of them and escaped unsullied and alive.

"About that…our Kappas are _different _from what Japanese mythology actually says. First off, they only take one's lifeforce through a ball only when you get too close to them. Secondly—" "They still eat ass though." I cut him off with those words, and it sinks in for a moment. He forcefully exhales through his nose, trying to stifle something at the way I worded it.

"Yes. They still…consume one's life-force…anally." I'm not going to let this go.

"So how are they different? Can they be an ally to humans instead of killing them anally?" Please get the pun, please get the pun, please get the pun. The an ally and anally joke was something I've been saving for a while.

He completely puts his chopsticks down and takes a deep breath. Oh yeah, he definitely got it. He looks at me with an unholy shine in his glasses and pulls out a gigantic book from out of nowhere. So, he too possesses the legendary hammer space.

"We're going to teach you everything about Gensokyo. Including the types of Youkai, their habits, and what they actually do." My face goes stark white as I begin to escape from the insane man. That does nothing because he grabs my hood and drags me into his room. He drops me onto the floor and locks his door.

"Read all of this and _learn._" The book made a heavy thud as it fell on the ground right in front of me opened onto the first page. Oh…it's about magicians. Wait…they're counted as Youkai? I look up at a stoic Rinnosuke.

"So how much am I reading exactly?" I say with false hope in my voice.

He pushes his glasses up as a light reflects off of it. "All of it." Those words spell my doom as he begins chuckling maniacally. It then devolves into a full-blown villainous breakdown type of laughter as I'm forced to consume every bit of knowledge from this book and recite it to him.

* * *

"Oh shit…now I remember." We started that at 5 in the evening, which lasted for seven hours. I manage to escape and duck under the futon's covers and fall asleep. That was true hell.

"Oh, you're up this early. I'm kind of surprised honestly." Those curious words send chills down my spine as I remember that all Youkai have evil in them. This guy's evil is to force me to read books until I want to vomit and make me explain technology until I want to claw my eyes out and rip out my throat.

"Yeah…don't do that again." He lets out a chuckle at this.

"Your sense of humor is crude and you best watch what you say to some people. I just taught you a painless lesson. Other Youkai may not be as forgiving as I." Pain is a lesson that actually doesn't help me learn.

"Nah, you don't count as a Youkai. Even if you were one, you're still the only friend I have in this place." Something I don't really care for to be honest. My words seem to have resonated with him deeply though.

"I…see. We open in two hours. Make sure to be ready by then." He seems to be a bit subdued by what I said. Did I word it wrong somehow? People are just so difficult to understand.

"I'll be heading out then. Could you spare me a watch, so I'll know to be here on time?" I'm going up to Youkai Mountain to see where I ended up at. I think I'll be able to make some wings.

"A watch? I should have one of those devices around here somewhere." He digs through the room, uprooting a bunch of stuff. What a hoarder. He then pulls it out.

"Ah. Here it is. Make sure to be back on time." I take I and walk out of the store. It's one of those old analog watches from the sixties.

"Let's see…just need to form the wings to make me go through the air." I feel a forming sensation on my body, and I look behind me to see two black wings. The feathers aren't really actual feathers and I don't need to flap them to be able to fly. It's kind of weird, but that's the nature of Dark Matter: to create things that don't exist and don't make sense.

I wonder if i can make fire that freezes? That's a topic for another day.

I float high up in the air. "Woah…!" This feels extremely refreshing. The wind blowing on my face, and the sensation of being high up in the air. I can see the mountain from here. It's time to go, go, go!

I let out a burst of speed that surprised me greatly and I stopped myself out of shock. I reorient myself and prepare to zoom through the air again. I immediately reached the mountain in record time, and I spot a person with black wings cut me off.

She's has a notebook and a camera, and she's being followed by a crow. Same hair and eye color as Hakurei. She's wearing a white blouse and a black skirt. Our wings are very different though. Where hers look like proper bird wings with the bend and natural feathers. Mine are more like the wings similar to that of a Fallen Angel with feathers layering upon each other.

"I listened to the wind, and it told me that there was a scoop to be found! You must be the new guy around here. Are you a Tengu? No, the wings aren't the same. Could you be an angel?!" This person is talking too fast and jumping to all sorts of conclusions.

"Wait a second…just who are you?" I check my watch. Good. I still have a hour and fifty minutes left.

"I'm Shameimaru Aya, chief reporter for the Bunbunmaru Newspaper!" What a cheerful and easily excitable person. That last name is an extreme mouthful though.

"Tell me what you want. I'm in a hurry." Her eyes gleam as she pulls out a pen and tabs her notebook with it.

"Tell me about yourself. Name, occupation, relationship status." Her tone descended into something sketchy when she said that last part. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to do this. Whatever keeps her off my back. She seems like the type of person to never stop at anything to get what she wants, and I don't have the time to mess around here.

"Wil. Outsider. Single." I say those three things to answer her three questions. It's simple, correct, and short. Nothing else needs to be said. She writes it out really quickly and I begin to leave again. The moment she looks up, I'm nowhere to be seen because I've already descended to where I originally was in Youkai Mountain. I look up at her searching back and forth for where I am.

"At least I don't have to worry about that mess for now." I search around for the spot which I spawned from. I eventually find it after an hour of searching and I begin analyzing traces of it with my Dark Matter. This ability also holds Psychometry under its powers. It requires me running Dark Matter over an area's surface to obtain information of past events. This can be also be called Residual Thoughts.

Through doing this I can play back the events that happened like a CD going through my mind. Let's see…the area was fine and undisturbed. Then I immediately popped into existence at that spot. I can at least hypothesize that there were no traces of anything dropping here.

So far, I have come up with two ways I could have been transported here. First, the shadow erased my existence from my world and transported it to Gensokyo. That's why Yukari didn't detect an Outsider because I was shown as being here all this time as a native.

The second, which is more likely, is that only my body and mind were taken and then they were ripped apart and reconstructed here. It was outside of reality here somehow undetectable and reassembled my body here in small enough pieces so that it actually was undetectable. This can also be done through my Dark Matter ability as well. I just need to figure out how to do it. It's gonna take a lot of extreme calculation though.

I actually have nothing at all to prove either of these, so they'll just stay as hypotheses for now. A thought just crossed my mind.

"What if I break down my body into small enough pieces to actually move through the holes between reality and fiction? That's probably what actually happened, so what if I reverse that?" I need to greatly improve my control over Dark Matter before I begin thinking that, but at least I have a small hope of actually getting home. I check the time really quick.

"Oh shit! I only got five minutes left?!" How long was I here? No time to complain. Gotta move now!

I immediately take off with great speed all the way to Kourindou. I made it to Youkai Mountain in ten minutes, so hopefully I can shorten it to five minutes. Just need to move faster.

* * *

"You were almost late. It's time to open up now." I wipe the sweat off my head from getting here on time. Who knows what he would've done if I was late. Make me read the history of the universe?

I joke about that, but that can actually be a real, terrifying possibility. Let's just act as a typical employee.

"So, what's my job going to be?" I say a bit curiously. His shop is quite small, and I don't know what he'll actually need me for.

"Ah. That's quite simple." He says with a smile. I have a feeling I'm not going to like his role for me. I'd rather be searching for a way to get back home to be honest, alas the things I do for friends.

"You're actually not needed around here unless there are some new gadgets to evaluate. So, you'll be wandering around Gensokyo. You already have the information of the most dangerous spots to avoid." Wait, so he didn't force all that knowledge on me as revenge?

"I trust this is satisfactory?" His glasses gleam in the light. No, he definitely did do that to torture me. The added bonus of learning about this place was a side-benefit for him. He's just trying to make me think that he did that for my sake. What a devious guy!

"Yeah, that's fine. You're lucky I know how to fly now."

"Of course. Everything was all according to plan." I swear he was about to nearly let out a villainous laughter. Excuse me?! This isn't your character type. You're supposed to be the kind store owner, not Aizen version two! "You do remember the places to avoid, right?

"Yeah, Hell, Heaven, and the Forest of Magic. I got it memorized don't worry." I wave off his concerns. "I'll be back later. Don't count on me actually finding anything from the Outside." I walk out of the store and create the same black wings on my back as before.

Now, where should I go…

* * *

**Third Person POV**

"Hey Reimu!" A blonde-haired witch barged through a shrine just to see the shrine maiden's irritated eyes lock on her. She's looking quite grumpy today. "There's a group of Youkai ignoring the spell card rules." Marisa then notices the typical Bunbunmaru newspaper in Reimu's hands.

"What's that?" Reimu picks it up and shoves it in her face. Marisa notices the title. "Angel from the Outside? Sounds interesting-ze!"

"Sounds troublesome. I have some Youkai to beat up. Don't cause any more trouble for me!" Reimu grabs her gohei and flies out of the shrine. Marisa just lets out a smirk as if that's natural.

"Oh, I forgot to tell her that their location is unknown. Ah well, she'll find 'em anyway. I have an angel to find!" Marisa also flies out of the shrine, leaving it completely empty save for a gap in the room. It shortly closes.

"When it comes to searching for things, Youkai Mountain seems to be the best choice." Wil already touched down at the base of the mountain searching for things. He found some triple A and double A batteries just lying about. He never expected to find some of the things necessary to power the devices.

"I should be able to get a good paycheck out of this." He takes off once again and notices a river leading to a misty spot of the forest. He follows it and notices the near zero visibility in the area. After he hovers for a small amount of time he becomes a little annoyed.

"I'm not going to deal with this any longer. Can't I use Dark Matter through my wings…" He ponders. Wil flaps his wings and it creates a huge wave of wind, utterly blowing away all the mist. He finds himself in the middle of a lake, and he spots a large mansion off to the side on a ridge. It has a pretty good view of the lake.

"I'll mark this place on my map for later." He creates a black mark on the map, showing that there is a mansion near the Misty Lake. He then rises higher up into the sky and flies back to Kourindou. On the way there, he blazes past a certain flying witch and nearly knocks her off the broom.

"Watch where you're going, you stinkin' Tengu!" She yells that at the flying Wil.

"My bad!" He yells back as the distance between them increases enough that they can no longer hear each other. Eventually, he makes it back to the store with a collection of double and triple A batteries. He opens the door to see Rinnosuke and a familiar shrine maiden.

They both look at him, Rinnosuke with a relieved smile and Reimu with a neutral gaze. "I'm back Rinnosuke, and I also got some goods." He greets the Half-Youkai storeowner and hands the batteries over to an excited Rinnosuke. He then turns to Reimu who's looking at him with a strange look, like trying to remember something.

"Wait, you're that Angel from the Outside! I thought you were human." Wil looks at her with a surprised face. He never said anything about being an Angel. He then remembers the earlier meeting with Aya and palms his face with a sigh. Unfortunately, he doesn't get a chance to correct his assumption.

"Listen, I don't care what you actually are so long as you don't cause any trouble. You should also be careful of some Youkai not following proper rules." She immediately leaves in a hurry after warning Wil not to cause any trouble, or to get into any trouble.

"At least she cares about my well-being. Unlike a certain someone who sent me to search for objects from the Outside. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack." Wil jokes at his own expense.

"Well, at least my own magic can tell me what these batteries are for perfectly. I still don't know which devices use which battery type though."

"Lazy ass. You can just compare the sizes of the space and the battery needed. Anyways, we don't have time for that. We have some Youkai to stomp into the ground." This is also a way to destress Wil.

"Someone needs to watch you." He whispers to himself. "Just a minute. I need to get the proper tools." Wil goes to wait outside.

When Rinnosuke comes out, Wil sees him wearing a large overcoat. "Dude, what are you hiding in there?" He can barely see the bulges in some parts of the jacket. Rinnosuke lets out a pride-filled smirk.

"Tools of the trade."

"Yeah, you're not pulling that cryptic bullshit on me." Wil pulls open his coat and looks inside as Rinnosuke panics.

"Wait, my heart isn't ready yet!" Wil looks at the bottles, weapons, and other random stuff in there while ignoring Rinnosuke's complaints. His eye is twitching from some of the things in there. He has no idea what some of the things on him are even called.

"It's not like I'm stripping you. Whatever, you seem prepared enough. Let's go to the Forest of Magic." Rinnosuke eyes widen in shock as that's one of the places he specifically told him not to go!

"You know that place is dangerous, right?!" Wil turns back to Rinnosuke. He just remembered why that place was so dangerous and annoying to deal with for some people.

"Yeah, but you should have some antidotes for the poisonous plants and poisonous gas laying around there. As a matter of fact, let me take it preemptively." Wil digs around his body to loot his antidotes. Rinnosuke greatly regrets teaching him exactly which of the Gensokyian native stocks do what.

"It tastes like shit, and my mouth is turning numb! That was really disgusting! Just what are those things made from? Am I going to die? I may have gotten AIDs." Wil nearly vomits from all the antidotes he's taken as Rinnosuke looks at him like he's an idiot.

"You're not supposed to take all of them at once, and no, you won't die! What even is AIDs?!" Wil looks at him in shock.

"So uncultured. Come on, let's go." Wil smiles at him. Rinnosuke nearly goes catatonic from shock when he heard Wil of all people call him uncultured when he's an outsider who hasn't even been here for a week. He chases after him silently fuming, vowing to make him read more when they get back.

"This forest is messed up." That's the first thing Wil has said after thirty minutes of exploration. Both Wil and Rinnosuke have been out here searching for more Outside goods. Well, Rinnosuke more than Wil. He's just trying to explore every nook and cranny of Gensokyo to find a clue to leave this place.

"What do you mean?" Rinnosuke asks even though he clearly knows the answer. He's staring straight at Wil getting fondled by tentacle plants.

"You know exactly what I mean!" He blows away all of the plant matter trying to surround him. He wipes off the remaining goo sticking to his body with a disgusted look. "Geez, how can people even live here. I just wanna destroy this entire forest."

"No! It's not all bad…I think." Rinnosuke remembers how Wil described his powers. If number one can destroy the world, then number two should be close enough to destroy a large part of the world. That's what he believes at least.

"Don't worry, it was just my frustration leaking out. Hmm?" Wil looks over in the distance and spots a Youkai congregation. He smiles as he's finally found something interesting.

"Wil no." Rinnosuke immediately wants to grab him and leave the forest.

"Wil yes!" He immediately goes to eavesdrop on them. Rinnosuke follows him with a sigh to make sure he doesn't cause any trouble.

What they both notice, is a large amount of Youkai. There's a ball of darkness with the voice of a small girl coming out of it, a bipedal tiger, and other sorts of Youkai. Wil's excitement dims into something resembling annoyance. Both Wil and Rinnosuke hear them discussing about meeting some humans.

"They're all female…of course they are. Name a more iconic duo than Gensokyo and women. Tell me. I'll wait for you to come up with one." Wil sarcastically mocks this place. It's not that he dislikes females, it's just the repetition.

"You and sodomy." Rinnosuke bites back with a harsh joke that even Wil didn't see coming. He realized that he's been talking about sodomy a lot, but he didn't expect it to bite him in the ass…

"Fuck! That was a good one. I'll remember tha—" "Anyways, I recognize some of these Youkai. They're the ones who actually like to eat humans." Wil let's out a sigh and his gaze grows just a little bit more neutral.

"Who're supposed to deal with them?" Rinnosuke goes to open his mouth, then all of the Youkai turn to the both of them at once, like a legion of hungry ghosts. Acknowledging that they have found the two, Wil and Rinnosuke step out of the bushes and face them down. They didn't expect the warm reception though.

"Welcome!" Their cheer was very unexpected and threw both of them off completely. They got swept up in some on-the-spot celebration for something they don't know about. Wil turns to Rinnosuke for help, but all he sees is an outline of where he was. The only thing that proves he was there in the first place was a dust trail leading to where he escaped.

"The bastard just ditched me…" Wil is shocked and amazed at his prowess of throwing people under the bus. He can't even be upset at how stealthy that was. He looks at the dark ball smashing into trees like a dumbass, and he can't help but laugh.

"So, what's a human like you doing here…and where did your friend go to?" The Youkai sound a bit suspicious..

"I'm just exploring this place. New to Gensokyo and all. You feel me?" Wil puts his hands in his pockets. Something here feels a bit fishy to him, but he can't put his finger on what's causing his inner alarm to blare like a fire alarm. And damn, those things are really loud.

"This place is a wonderful zone of peace, don't you think? There are some bad Youkai, but we're one of the good ones." The tiger puffs her chest in pride. Wil let's out a sigh he didn't know he was holding.

He thinks that maybe these guys aren't all that bad. One of the Youkai hands him an apple.

"Wow, thanks. Apples are actually my favorite fruit." He bites into the apple not noticing the sinister excitement showing on the face of the Youkai. When he gets ready to bite into it again, he starts getting dizzy and attempts to balance himself on a tree.

"What…? Talk about a _bad apple. _The hell did you get this thing from?" Wil futilely hopes that this whole thing wasn't a setup by the Youkai. If it is, well at least Rinnosuke isn't around to get caught up in it.

"Bahahaha! You actually fell for the poison apple trap like a typical dumb human. How trustworthy can you idiots be? You're the fiftieth person we caught with this trap. Wil's eyes widen in shock anger from a large number of people being killed.

"Wah?! Is it time to start the ambush already?" The black ball calls out, ignorant to the situation due to her blindness. She can't even get into position without crashing into things.

"You…gave me a poisoned apple? That's really cliché. Cliché as all hell. I would've been screwed if I didn't ingest every single antidote that Rinnosuke had on him. I think I understand this world a little better. Most of the Youkai just can't be trusted at all." Wil doesn't glare at them or bare his teeth. He just gives them a neutral gaze.

"You want to poison me with an apple?" Some of the Youkai step back out of an invisible pressure weighing down on them. "Well then, I have a nice riddle for you." His lips turn up in a sinister grin showing all of his teeth. _Wings _erupt from his back. Two, four, six, pristine white wings instead of the single pair of black wings.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the deadest of them all?" The pristine wings start shimmering. One of the Youkais charged.

The result was a large explosion.

* * *

"I need to find Reimu to handle those Youkais. He may be strong, but he'll need some help." Rinnosuke left to get some help from the shrine maiden who handles these kinds of incidents. He's using his senses as a Half-Youkai to track her down.

Hopefully he won't be too mad at me abandoning him to the wolves." The Youkai aren't actually that all strong for someone who is of reasonable strength. The strongest one there was Rumia. The moment he saw her, he immediately went to go get Reimu. There's no need for him to settle the incident. It's best to leave it to a human.

He got a hint of her scent, and Marisa's as well much to his confusion. When he meets them, he lets out a sigh of relief. 'So, this is the famous Intuition of hers at work.' He thinks to himself. It's even better that Marisa's here as well.

"Kourin? What're you doing here?" Marisa's the first one to spot him. Reimu turns to him with a questioning look.

"There's trouble. A bunch of Youkai, including Rumia. I think they've been attacking people." Reimu's gaze turns hard.

"Where are they?" She demands of Rinnosuke. Right when he's about to open his mouth, there's a large explosion. It echoes throughout the entire forest sending quakes far enough to reach the three here. They turn to where they heard it.

"Over there…" He points to where the large mass destruction occurred. All three of them can see parts of trees falling to the ground. Reimu and Marisa immediately flies over there, and Rinnosuke follows them. There was another incident on the way there.

A large pillar of life blasted upwards all the way to the sky. So high up, that the end of it couldn't even be seen. The pillar starts widening and just disappears into motes of light.

The first thing they see when they arrive, is a large pile of bodies. They're stacked up like a hill, and there's a single person sitting on top of it playing with two cards in his hands. The three who have arrived are dazed at the sight of the shimmering wings behind Wil. He looks at them and the cards from his hands vanish.

"You're a bit late." He leaps off of the mass of bodies and greets the newcomers with a smile. They look a bit disturbed at the end result of the explosion. He notices what they're looking at and he's quick to assuage them of any concerns.

"Ah, don't worry. They're not dead." One of them begs for death as he says that. Wil sweats a little bit. "Okay, I may have gone just a little bit overboard." He pinches his fingers to show just how small he went overboard.

"It's not that. You're bleeding from your mouth. You should get that internal bleeding checked out." To his surprise, it was Reimu who spoke about it. He didn't even notice that.

"That's fine though? Blood is supposed to be on the inside of your body, so internal bleeding is normal, right? Wil looks at her like she's a dumbass. Reimu can't even be bothered to deal with his idiocy, so she just glares at him. Wil sighs at not getting the reaction he wanted.

"It's so bright…" A blonde-haired Youkai with a red ribbon murmurs while she's unconscious. Wil realizes that there's no need to fight anymore. He retracts the wings and throws his hands in the air.

"Well, this isn't my problem anymore. They decided to gank me, and I was abandoned to their flights of fancy. I think one of them tried to touch my ass." Rinnosuke gives him a blank look at that.

"Wil…" He's trying to word this in a way that won't offend him. "…not every Youkai is after your ass." He cannot comprehend what Rinnosuke just said. What he said shook his worldview.

"But…every Youkai I met is after my butt. Are you saying it's not good enough for everyone?!" Wil acts offended and Rinnosuke believes he's actually being serious. "Nah, it's just a joke, don't worry about it. These idiots need to be reined in though. How about it?" He asks one of the still conscious ones.

"We'll follow the spell card rules from now on." She immediately answers without a trace of hesitation. Wil just scratches his head in confusion.

"That's not what I wanted, but I guess that's the best I can get? I'd prefer if you would stop killing humans. Wait, don't tell me that the spell card rules are supposed to prevent deaths on both sides?" Wil finally pieced together what it was for.

"I thought it was just for bets…" He murmurs.

"You're really an angel." Reimu cuts through all of his thoughts with a baffling statement. He turns to her in confusion.

"Excuse me? I don't think I'm good enough to be called an angel, and besides, I'm actually a home-grown full one hundred percent organic human being. There's not a trace of anything inhuman within me at all…I think." Everyone, including the beaten down Youkai recall the white wings sprouting from his back. They then completely ignore what they believe to be blatant lies from him.

"Whatever it doesn't matter. I'll round up all the Youkai and make sure that they all follow the rules. I guess I should thank you for dealing with this batch of them." Reimu bows to Wil much to his distress.

"Yeah, you did a pretty good job-ze!" Even Marisa and Rinnosuke are looking at him with gratitude.

"Wait." He put his hand in front of them to stop them. "I didn't do this for you guys or Gensokyo or anything like that. I just did it because they were bothering me. Don't mistake my actions for altruism." He wants to get this misunderstanding out of the way.

The only reason this happened was because of his bad luck arranging a set of circumstances to run into them. This is definitely not going to be the only time he gets ganked by Youkai. He doesn't want to be misunderstood as some good guy or anything like that.

"Still, you did a good thing. Thank you." Before Wil good deny it again. Reimu turned to all the Youkai who are finally fully conscious with a scary look in her eyes. Even Marisa is a bit put-off by it. The Youkai are faring much worse, with some of them going right back to dreamland.

"If an incident like this happens again…you will have to deal with me. Don't make me waste my time." Only those words were necessary and the conscious ones grabbed the sleeping ones and scattered at the speed of light. Wil looks at this and mocks the entire situation.

"The philosophy of a lazy person." He of course, wasn't dumb enough to say that loud enough for Reimu to hear. Rinnosuke still heard him and had an epiphany. He nearly started laughing, but he couldn't unless he wanted both of them to die. For the sake of both of them, he had to hold it in.

"All in a day's work." Reimu nods to herself with satisfaction. She flies off back to her shrine shorty thereafter.

"It was nice seeing you Kourin! I'll stop over later-ze!" Marisa also flies off back to where she lives in the Forest of Magic. Wil and Rinnosuke just stands there. Wil turns to Rinnosuke with a blank look in his face and slowly comes closer to him. He grabs him by the shoulder.

""All in a day's work," right? By the way, why did you leave me like that. We could have had a fun time kicking some ass together. Let me here your excuses on the way back. I demand proper compensation from being abandoned to a potential horrid fate for me." He will not accept no for an answer.

"I'll give you food for free." He manages to choke those words out. Wil sees the look on his face like he's struggling to make this one concession. He notices that he doesn't make a lot of money, so he takes this for face value.

"Aren't you already giving me food for free? Wait, are you taking it out of my paycheck?!" Wil looks a bit indignant. Rinnosuke's about to say something about it, but he's interrupted again.

"Eh. That doesn't matter. I was just yanking your chain anyways. You at least brought those two over here, so you actually weren't considering abandoning me. Come on, let's go home." Rinnosuke was shocked by his words. He isn't one to look gift horses in the mouth though, so he lets the matter drop. Both of them walk home to enjoy a relaxing evening stroll.

"By the way, what was that pillar of light you made? It reached all the way in to the sky; I couldn't even see the end of it!" He asks Wil with an amazed tone. Wil looks at him with a smirk and shows him a spell card.

"It's my new spell card I made. Take a look at it in all of its glory. I remembered something my ability could do, so I just magnified it exponentially." He looks at the spell card in question. It's a picture of a white shadow with six white wings off its back. There's a large pillar of light surrounding it. The name…

**Dark Matter "Yatagarasu's Usurpation of Amaterasu" **

"That's a really cool name." Rinnosuke almost sounds a bit jealous. _Almost. _

"I know, right?! It's badass as hell!" Wil's grinning with all teeth to show. He seems really excited by this. His excitement then rapidly dims at a certain realization, then his face returns to a neutral frown. Rinnosuke didn't miss this.

"What happened? Are you still sick from the apple?" He was already told about the poisoned apple and the majority of the incident from him.

"Nah…it's nothing. Just realized something that I shouldn't let out of my mind for even the slightest moment. We're almost back at your house, so this topic doesn't matter anymore. I'm also getting hungry." Wil's attempts at dropping the conversation are as subtle as a wrecking ball.

"Alright, I'll whip up something suitable for your picky palate. What type of person hates every single vegetable?!" He drops the previous topic for a new one for Wil's sake. The new topic that he moved on to was something that's bothered him ever since he found out about it.

"I can't help it! Every time I've tried a vegetable of any sort, it just gave me a bad reaction every single time. I've either vomited or had extreme nausea. Even my mind doesn't like it when there's a vegetable in front of me!" Vegetables for Wil are the one thing he just can't handle. Ever since he was four years old, he just couldn't eat them at all. Whether it was mental or physical, he doesn't know and he doesn't care. He never plans on eating vegetables again.

"So uncultured. Come on, let's go." Rinnosuke copies him from earlier in the day and leaves him behind. Those words jogged Wil's memories as he chases after Rinnosuke.

"You can't just reverse my words on me like that!" He complains about unfairness and dirty trickery all the way back to the house.

* * *

**Wil POV**

Today's been a pretty crazy day. This will be my third day actually being in Gensokyo, with being no closer to making my way home. I have some theories that I need to test, but I can't test it on myself yet. Too many unknown variables like that can irreparably screw my body over. It doesn't mean i can test it on others though. I'll always keep my morals in check.

"That was a pretty nice meal." We just finished dinner after Rinnosuke tried to sneak some vegetables in my steak. I nearly wanted to fillet him for that and serve myself some Youkai stew, but then I realized that it would be half cannibalism if I actually went through with it.

"I'm glad my meager skills were enough to satisfy such a picky member of royalty such as yourself." And now he's mocking me for my taste buds. I can't control them at all. I can only like what I like.

"I found something interesting on my first venture out by the way." I nearly forgot about this. He raises one brow. "There was a large western-styled mansion over by Misty Lake." I look up to see his golden eyes glow with anticipation. I'm gonna be honest, that's a little freaky.

"_Western?"_ He squeezes out those words very softly, but I could sense the underlying avarice underneath his voice. What's with this guy and western stuff? First the comics, then his bed, now a mansion!

"Yeah. So, you up for any exploration of it? Of course, there's probably going to be people in there, so we have to sneakily raid it without being detected. I'm no good at that, so you got any means to hide our presence?" This is such a stupid idea, but my curiosity is telling me to do it.

"Oh, don't worry about that." He raises his glasses and the lens flare effect happens once more. "I have just the things needed. We need to mask our scent completely, turn ourselves invisibility with a few potions I bartered from Marisa, and then you have to scout it out and make a map of the inside and outside." I'm shocked silly.

With such an amazing plan things are bound to go wrong, no, destined to go wrong. My bad luck will land me into a fight with some super powered maid and I'll get wrecked. I can feel it in my unlucky bones.

"Damn! You're really good at planning out house raids. Do you make a hobby of squatting at other people's places without them finding out?" Rinnosuke puts on a deadpan face.

"Just what kind of person do you think I am?" I answer with no hesitation.

"A crazy one!" He throws his chopsticks right at my head and it knocks me right off the chair. The only pain I feel is the one in my heart. How could he strike such an innocent maiden such as myself?

"It's time to clean up and open up shop again for the evening. We'll close at nighttime." Oh yeah, Marisa said she was coming over… I stand up and enter through the connected hallway to see Rinnosuke already propped up beneath his counter sitting on a chair. He's reading a book. Actually that's a comic.

I sneak up on him out of curiosity, and see a filthy thing in my sight. It's _that _Superman comic. He's reading the Elseworld story by Tom Veitch. I only recognize it because of how shitty it was. Thankfully, I follow the ironclad rule of never judging a man's taste. Though that's usually for taste in women.

"Oh, are you curious in this? This is a terrible piece of garbage, but it's still a comic. That means I have to consume it." He's just given up on trying to hide his fascination with the West. This guy is a total Westaboo. I don't judge him for it, but it's kind of ironic to find a Youkai that likes the west more than the east.

"I've actually read that before. I wanted to claw my eyes out, and it was the one thing that made me stay away from comics. I just couldn't read another one after that. Hobo Superman again two Hitler clones was peak garbage for me." Rinnosuke just let's out a laugh. We then turn to see the door open.

"Welcome Marisa." He closes the book and greets her with a stoic look. He's entered conman mode again. I'm not going to be a part of this deception, so I just hang off to the side. I do a double-take at the different book that only intellectuals read in his hands.

He switched books to even play up a different personality…? This guy is an experienced con artist!

"Hey Kourin! Give me some stuff!" I look on as these two barter with each other very familiarly. He's such a good con artist…but his business sense is straight trash. Holy shit, she asks for something and then you say you can't sell it because you want to keep it. Then you end up giving her something else for cheaper.

There's something very…something with these two. Something is bothering me. It's on the tip of my tongue, but it seems to be behavioral. Once Marisa leaves, it finally hits me.

"Is this an anime?" I blurted that out, but thankfully Rinnosuke didn't hear me. From my point of view, and I could be wrong and I hope I am, but it seems like Marisa has a small crush on this shopkeeper here. Of course, like the typical protagonist dense to a woman's feelings, he doesn't notice wha Marisa feels for him. I could be wrong though. I hope I'm wrong because that sounds illegal. Wait…I could be wrong about that as well!

A serious look crawls upon my face. This is a fictional place made up by Japan, which means! She may look underaged, but she's actually legal, but how do I ask this without sounding like a creep? Right, this is for my friend's sake. I don't want him to get arrested by the Youkai police. I must act like an innocent and pure angel looking out for my friend.

"Hey Rinnosuke, just how old are Reimu and Marisa? Kids shouldn't be walking around by themselves." There it is! The perfect way to express concern through asking for their ages. This makes me sound like I'm trying to look out for them because of how young they are. This either leads to me being corrected through him talking about their so-called real ages or assuaging my worries because they are that strong to be out by themselves.

"Ah, they're actually older then they look. I forgot you're not from Gensokyo, but you're an angel. You should know these things. Most humans who use magic, stall their ages with it to keep in their prime. They're actually in their mid-teens." So, that's the excuse. I'm not an angel though, but I don't know how to convince him otherwise.

"That's bullshit, but I believe it." This place is so weird. Where is my sense of normalcy? Give it back!

"You should. In a place like Gensokyo you should throw away all common sense. That's why Outsiders usually can't get adjusted here for a while. It's just too different. It's almost like a whole new world, don't you think?" He sends me a curious smile while he turns the pages of his comic.

"Yeah, a new world that I want to leave. It's too bad that I'm stuck here for now." I get in one of my grumpy moods again. "At least it isn't all bad. I met a friendly face like you." We both sit there in peaceful silence waiting for another customer to come in. Since there was no one coming, we decided to close up early.

We're now chilling in the living room drinking. He's having tea, while I'm consuming basic water. It's not from the tap, so I'm actually not drinking gasoline, thank you very much America.

I open up first. "You know something…you remind me of my younger brother. He was always able to keep me in check if I got too untamed. I'm kind of glad I met you." I also deeply regret meeting you at the same time.

"I see…well I guess I could tell you a bit about myself. I actually don't remember much before I came to Gensokyo. I was an Outsider, just like yourself. It was Yakumo who found me and helped me get on my feet here. I think that I was falling apart though." Her...huh. I guess I should be politer to her, even if she does rub me the wrong way.

"I was taken in by Marisa's father, and even looked over her when she was very young. She doesn't remember those times though. I eventually moved out and made this little shop here in dreams of peace and fame."

"You want peace and fame? Isn't that a little contradictory? Also, impossible?"

"The best kinds of dreams are the impossible ones." You did not just feed me that bullshit. I'm exactly the same way. _And that's not a good thing._

"I feel the same way to be honest. Anyways, I'm heading to sleep early. Best wishes I guess. I'll wake up before dawn and scout out the mansion before their guards would wake up." He gives me a thumb up for the plan.

"I'll be counting on you. Good night." I wave him off.

I open the door to the guest room and close it. I feel a bit bad for holding out on him. Judging on the story he told me, he seems to be a very lonely person. He doesn't need me though. He has Marisa, and it seems like Reimu visits here from time to time. That's why I can plan to leave back to my world easily.

I'm not missing out on anything by leaving here. I'm not throwing away anything by leaving here. I'm not causing any problems by leaving here. I'm not really needed here.

I then break out into a coughing fit. "I thought I got all of the poison out…?" It goes away after a minute, but damn did that feel awful. I should be better after a night's rest though. Still, I can't believe I fooled him. The fact that he thought that the card I showed him was the only one I gained shows that he either trusts me too much, or I've gotten too good at deceiving without lying. Both honestly don't feel too good.

I pull out the second card I gained. This was the card I was looking at when I was sitting on top of the Youkai hill.

**Foreign Sign "Invisible Demon"**

The spell card is a dark shadow with one of the eyes glowing and the other one shadowed out. There are no wings at all, and everything else is just a unidentifiable background. It looks very unsettling. Invisible demon...maybe this could represent what I hide from people. No, that doesn't sound right.

I wonder how this represents anything I've done? The pattern I've noticed with spell cards is that they either form from your abilities, or from something that represents you. I don't think this fits either of those two...maybe.

There are two cards now that I haven't tried out. It's this one and my Crisis Sign. I'll need to find a target to test out what they actually do. I'm putting finding out the meaning of those cards on the back-burner.

Besides that, I need to decrypt this book. I've looked in it further and noticed that some parts of it are also in Latin. I wonder if there are any books that show a translation of these languages lying around somewhere. Maybe I can check the Human village later for that. Yeah, that's also going on the back-burner. There're too many things I want to research. Need to keep a log of all the things i need to do.

I guess the first thing I'm going to do is scout out that mansion. Maybe I'll get lucky and find something that'll help me.

Yeah right, luck is usually never on my side. I chuckle one last time before i go to sleep.


	4. Natural and the Unnatural

Chapter 4

I wake up to see darkness. Why did I wake up early again…oh yeah. I needed to sleep early to wake up early. I need to check the time. It's a good thing Rinnosuke let me keep the watch he lent me. I don't feel like giving it back either. Four in the morning huh. That's a pretty good time to wake up.

The best time to sneak in a place is between four and six in the morning. That's when people are the least alert. The reason why I know this information isn't important. What is important is sneaking through that mansion and finding anything interesting for Rinnosuke and anything important for me.

Maybe the place even has a library. I won't know until I go there. I'll let Rinnosuke sleep in while I sneak out. I exit the house and extend black wings to help me camouflage myself in the night. I should conjure up a Dark Matter cloak as well. The color gray should be good enough and the size should be down to my ankles.

I create it and cover myself in it as I fly up into the sky. Yes, this should be good enough. Hopefully Metal Gear Solid helped me enough to know how to stealth my way through a place. I have to assume that the mansion is well guarded.

Eventually I make my way back to Misty Lake and spot the mansion. The lake isn't actually misty around this time. I hover low around the ground and see a gate. I expected there to be someone guarding the entrance, but it seems that I came at the perfect time where they aren't here. I carefully hover over the gate, making sure to watch everything around me for the slightest movement.

I get closer to the ground, but not enough to touch it out of paranoia. I've never done anything like this before, but it feels kinda fun!

I pull out a piece of paper and create a tool to write with. I need to map out the exterior of this mansion. Maybe I could stumble across a secret passageway? Nah, I'm not nearly that lucky.

This place has a pretty good garden. Someone must take care of it quite extensively. That means I should avoid stepping near it. Don't wanna alert anyone of my presence here. The only entrance we're going to make is an explosive one!

Alright, I'm done taking care of the mapping here. Time to go inside now.

How should I enter the building though? I can either do it through the front door, which is stupid or the windows, which is also stupid. The doors will most certainly get me caught, and. I can't break open the windows. Maybe I can make one of those circular cuts and sneak by that way… Let's try it!

I fly up to one of the scarlet-tinted windows and cover my fingernail in my ability. I cut a large enough hole to crawl into and hold it without making a sound. I hover through the window, land on my feet, and dissipate my wings, so that my cloak will cover me completely. I put the cut piece of the window back in. It looks like nothing happened to it. Perfect!

I pull out another piece of paper. It's time to make an interior map of this place without being caught. This is going to go hilariously wrong, so I should prepare for that just in case. A mansion like this might even have an interesting basement, some secret rooms, and some other sketchy stuff. The most curious thing is the people who actually live here.

There's no way that the people who live here are normal humans. No way in hell I'll believe that for a second. I wonder what kind of supernatural beings they could be? Let's think of western supernatural people that live in mansions… Could they be vampires? What if it's a deception? They could actually be werewolves!

They're probably vampires. I'm pretty lucky that I haven't run into anyone yet though. If I need to sneak through a place then I could always make a cardboard-like box. Snake could do it, so maybe I could as well? He's awesome though and I'm not, so I'm not too sure if the same strategy will work for me.

Oh? What's this door for?

I open the door and notice a set of stairs going downward. I definitely need to mark this on the interior map. This place really has a basement! My adventuring side is telling me to explore everything down here, but there's also a feeling of dread crawling up my spine. The more dangerous something is, the more interesting it is. It's probably why people called me crazy or suicidal.

Yeah right. Who wants to die? This is just a matter of risk versus reward. The reward of finding new things is greater than my risk of death, so I'll continue onwards.

This place is pretty spooky though. At the very end of the hallway in this basement is a single large door painted dark red. Almost like the color of blood. Screw that.

"Yeah not going that way…" I turn to the left to see a normal sized door colored purple. The danger I feel from this door is much less than the other one. Right before I try to open the door very carefully I break out into a coughing fit. I try to smother it as much as possible to prevent anyone from hearing it.

What was that…? Did I catch something? Maybe a cold or some other sickness. The last time I've ever been sick was around four years ago. Maintaining health as always been important to someone that needs to save money. Even if insurance covers doctor visits, it doesn't cover everything. Maybe it's the different environment?

I hope no one heard that though. I gently open the door, which lets out an extremely loud creaking sound. Are you kidding me?! This is an anti-stealth mechanism right here! I dash in the room and close it while hiding behind something. I see a shadow moving around and make a cardboard box to hide myself under. I hold my breath for as long as necessary to keep the stealth up.

I peek outside of a hole and notice that this room is a gigantic library. Like, really big. I don't know the regular size of a library, but this thing is as large as a fat museum. There could even be more space that I'm not looking at. I check my watch inside the box. It seems that I've been in here for nearly an hour. I need to cut it close and leave. I'll mark this place on my map and break out.

I stand up and remove the box only to look at a purple-haired midget wearing pajamas looking at me in surprise. We stare at each other for five seconds before I panic and push her into one of the bookshelves. She yelps more in shock than pain, and the books start tumbling and fall down on top of her. Without looking backwards, I immediately book it out of the library and close the door behind me.

I'm sorry!

"Of course, I couldn't perform perfect stealth." I grumble to myself. That was pretty unlucky though. Standing up right in front of one of the residents like that can only be a demonstration of my misfortune.

I'm not going to check out that red door. There's no time before people start waking up. With my cloak still covering my body, I walk through the long hallways back to the same window I cut a hole out of. On my way there something felt off and a person just appeared in front of me. She definitely wasn't there before…!

A gray-eyed maid with bright silver hair just appeared in front of me. She's just staring at me. I don't know if she has some crazy speed or whatnot, but I don't feel like getting into a fight with her without knowing her abilities. There's a window I can break out of, but will she let me go?

"Who are you?" She cuts through all of my thoughts with those three words. What should I do…?

"An intruder." I answer her honestly because there's nothing else I can really say. Her eyes harden at this and then she brings out two knives. I'm speaking in a deeper voice than usual to keep up the hidden identity. Don't know if these guys read the newspaper, so I won't bring out the wings.

"The hallway seems longer…" I note to myself. I guess this will be a spell card battle. Are those knives lethal though?

"I will not let you violate the sanctity of my mistress's home." She says stoically. I'm really in for a fight now. She throws those two knives, which I offset with two balls of Dark Matter.

The battle begins in full.

She instantly floods the hallway with a bunch of large knives. Right after that pattern she throws much more smaller knives to cover up the spots where I can move through the larger ones. She takes to the skies after finishing this action. I let loose a blast of wind to scatter the knives around me. I have no choice but to fly as well.

I materialize two black wings and hover at her eye level. Better pray that they don't read the newspaper. She's taller than some of the people here, but still shorter than me. These wings of mine will help me keep up with her.

Right before she starts throwing more stuff at me, I fire off pinions from the wings at high speeds. As long as I keep her on the fence, then she won't have a chance to attack me. While she's hung up dodging those feathers, I can blast her away…now!

I fire off a laser right where she should move next.

First, I see the feathers converging on her with my laser about to hit her. Next, I see a bunch of knives surrounding me instantly without any hint of them being there in the first place. "What?" They all hit me without showing any piercing wounds. This cloak was made to soak up damage after all. Not enough to prevent knives from poking through it. I can still feel the pain though.

"Ow." I say mockingly to her. I'm glad those aren't lethal. Well at least I know that the spell card rules are in effect. I fall down to the ground and barely catch myself from crashing onto the floor. More knives come at me, which I try to dodge, but they keep bouncing against the walls and the floor and even the ceilings! I'm getting a little annoyed with this.

I flap my wings and create a storm of wind that blasts through all the danmaku in effect.

So, we have a maid that can throw a bunch of knives that appear out of nowhere. Dio is that you? Wait, now that I think about it, from what I do know about this series…is this the time stopping maid? There were a bunch of memes comparing her to Dio, so it's probably her.

She's staring at me, looking down on me. Literally looking down on me because she's flying higher than I am. I think I can prove if she's actually stopping time. Kakyoin! I pray I don't get turned into a donut like you!

I spread out a bunch of white strings throughout the hallway. She accidentally touches one, which turns into a bunch of danmaku rocketing towards her. In her attempts to dodge it she hits multiple other strings, which she deflects with her knives.

"This is the Emerald Splash. No one can deflect it." I calmly state to her. Now, show me what your ability actually is! She glares at me after letting out a grunt. I see her pull out a pocket watch and multiple things happen.

**"****Illusion World "The World.""**

The strings snap, a bunch of knives are flying towards me at ridiculous speeds, and I cracked what her power is. I create a shield that defends me from the barrage of knives. Even if it's not lethal, it still hurts like a bitch.

"Your power is time manipulation." She gives no sign of worry at all, but maybe this next line will.

"It's not absolute though. You can't turn back time or personally affect another person's time. As a matter of fact, you can't even stop time!" The snapped strings helped me figure this last part out. When she blitzed through all of them, time wasn't stopped. She was just moving so quickly that it seemed like time stopped. Yeah…that's right. She's only affecting her own time.

No matter how eternally you accelerate, you can never reach the speed rivaling time.

My strings didn't snap at the same time. It only felt like it did just because of how fast she was moving. "The key to your limited time manipulation…is that pocket watch!" I point at her like a certain ace attorney.

"No matter. I will still capture you in the end." She says stoically like a devoted maid.

I let out a smirk and close one of my eyes. That's what she thinks, but I've been planning out this whole fight since the beginning! This battle has taken me to one of the windows that I can jump out of. My ability to escape is only based on a guess, but it's all I need.

So, I go all out and flood the entire hallways with a mass of Dark Matter, much to her shock. She probably thought I didn't have the power to do this. Too bad Esper abilities actually don't care about power, only what the ability can do itself. It's like Accelerator and magnitude. He doesn't give a shit about magnitude and could even stop a swing that could chop through a sun.

It's almost like water rushing throughout the hallways. She jumps and flies all the way up to the ceiling, but that distraction is all I need to escape from this mansion.

"_Arrivederci_." I give a two-finger salute and leap out of the window much to her surprise, and vanish over the horizon before she can catch me. Haha, I'm free bitch! She throws a fast moving knife at me, but I fly up before it hits me in the head.

"So, it worked." I let out a breath in relief. That was extremely lucky for someone like me. I banked it all on the fact that she couldn't manipulate time outside of where she is manipulating space. Her power is time-and-space manipulation. Those hallways weren't nearly that long before.

So basically, the way it works is that she designates a spot to manipulate space. That same space is where she can manipulate time with that pocket watch. Outside of that space, she can't do anything. She probably tried to undo what she did in the hallways and reapply outside to catch me in her time tricks again, but I was too quick to fly away. I took a page from the best JoJo.

She also doesn't affect time over the entire world, otherwise that would be broken and everyone with ridiculous strength would feel it. Reimu would've probably felt it for one. But still, time manipulation no matter how limited is still dangerous. We got ourselves a female Dio to get through if Rinnosuke and I want to raid this mansion successfully. I'm so screwed.

At least she doesn't know what I sound like or what I look like. I need to fly back to Kourindou and let Rinnosuke know what the hell is up with that crazy mansion. If the maid can screw with time, then what can her master do? There's also pajama girl who I ran from. She was in a library, so maybe a wizard or witch? There're probably more servants as well. There's no way that such a large mansion only has so few people.

* * *

I made it back to Rinnosuke's place. I retract the wings and open the door loudly.

"Wake up!" I hear scrambling behind his room, and then he opens the door with irritation pouring out of him in spades. His eyes lock on me with festering wrath for disrupting his sleep. When he's about to open his mouth and probably threaten me with something, I really don't care and interrupt him.

"That mansion that I went to…it wasn't fun. I went on a journey against girls in pajamas, time cheating maids, and I nearly got penetrated on all sides." He wipes the sleep out of his eye and he sees me handing him the maps I've drawn up. He looks at it for a good minute and he nods to himself with a smile.

"We're going to read a thousand-page book on cartography because you can't draw a map at all." He verbally destroys me while donning that cold smile. He pockets it and all I can feel is dread. The smile drops when he looks around me and reaches for my ass. I'm about to say something when he yanks something out of me.

"Ow, what the hell?!" He shows off a knife to me with a mocking grin on his face.

"That journey wasn't fun at all right? I can tell when you got a knife in the bum." That maid…

I'll make her pay for that.

"Whatever, you at least understood the gist of the mansion with the map, right?" He nods in confusion. "Then its purpose was fulfilled. No need to put me through reading hell again. Books are boring anyways."

I could have stopped before saying that sentence, but of course I have to be suicidal and always doom myself at all times. His glasses gleam in the dark night. The sun's about to rise soon, but it feels like it will never rise while I'm in the same room as this guy.

"Books are boring…I see. According to the interior map, there's a library, right? We're reading every single book in there." I give him a pure smile of hope while my insides turn into a caricature of the Last Supper. There may have been a few tears leaking out the corners of my eyes, but if anyone asks, I will always deny it.

Fuck.

"So, let's go back to the mansion and deal with…time stopping maids and pajama girls?" He wants an elaboration? After threatening me like that?

"Yeah. I barely escaped from a maid who can cheat the laws of time a little bit, and no it wasn't time stopping. She can only go so fast to make it seem like time has stopped. I think she can only control her own time, and not the time of others. I'm not too sure on that though because of the knives trick." I have no idea how to fight her.

If I had Vector Manipulation, then I could do something. I don't know Dark Matter well enough to actually do anything against something like that. Also, now that she knows that there was an intruder, she's going to beef up the security of the mansion immensely. She seems like a very devoted maid.

"Leave that person to me." He says that with a strange confidence. It doesn't look like he would be able to stop her…unless! I gasp in surprise. So, that's what he's going to do. I point at him in amazement.

"You're going to seduce her!" His glasses nearly slip off his face on mortification. He must be really surprised that I figured it out. "Of course, you aren't a bad looking guy, so this is the only avenue available to you. How pragmatic of you to use everything at your disposal like that."

"It's not like that! I have something that can keep time flowing without obstructions is all!" He shouts that out in annoyance. Ah, so that's what he can do. He stops himself before he can say what it is.

"You baited me…?" I nod without feeling bad at all. Wil's the name, deception's my game.

"Whatever, I was going to tell you anyways." He says that petulantly. That's a straight lie right there. He seems like an open guy, but he's actually very closed about his private life and anything personal about him. Getting anything out of him is like ripping open the mouth of a clam.

He clicks his teeth and pulls something out of his pocket. "This is a tool I call a jammer. Don't even say anything about the name." I close my mouth. "It's a tool that keeps the World's flow untouched when used. The world cannot be disturbed while this is in effect." I see.

The thing he called a jammer is in the shape of a lantern. I guess once it's lit, it activates the strange abilities. Still a generic name though. At least he can no sell tha maid's prime ability. My main concern shifted to something else though…

"Can you fight?" He side-eyes me.

"Just because I don't like fighting doesn't mean I won't. In this case though, I'll just stop her from using that time ability and stall her. I want you to nab anything of western influence, and you can get whatever you want for yourself. I hope you'll get some wonderful books." He smiles at that last sentence.

"Won't be able to. There's probably more than one guard in that mansion. I'll get what I need and you can get what you want." He actually pouts at me for denying him. He eventually accedes that to me at least.

"We need to get prepared though. I have some tools to hide our identities." He pulls out some other random gadgets. Hold the phone, why have I not actually seen these things? He notices my confusion and properly explains.

"I hid these from you because I was worried you'd use them for…uncouth activities." Just what kinda guy do you take me for Rinnosuke?

"These are voice changers. With these and your cloak, our identities will be safe from retaliation. We have to come up with names though…" I take the voice changer and move the dial and speak. I notice who I sound like and come up with a name.

"I will go by Joseph Joestar. Call me JoJo for short." I grin to myself. I can put on a nice personality for this voice. Rinnosuke spins the dial and speaks through it, and I felt like it was destiny. If I'm best JoJo, then he's Stroheim!

"So, by what name will you call me? Actually, I'm changing it. I don't like the look on your face." Wait, no!

"What about this one?" Yes! That one's even better. Before he decides to change it again, I instantly give this voice a name.

"Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli!" I point both of my fingers at him in what I hope to be a fabulous pose. He repeats the name to himself and nods with acceptance. He grabs my cloak and wraps it around himself.

"Wait, can you fly? I don't remember you actually showing me that ability." I create another strange cloak and cover my body with it. To answer me, he hovers above the ground. I give him a thumbs up.

"Alright then. What are we waiting for. Let's go raid that mansion and not get stomped into the ground." I open the door with wonderful cheer and spread my wings. I fly leisurely this time because there's no need to worry about a high-speed high-stakes stealth mission. Rinnosuke following me is good.

There's something off about him. At first, I thought he was weird because of his status as a halfling, but then other things started to stick out. The biggest thing is the identity of his Youkai trait? The only unnatural things are his eye and hair color, but that can be chocked up to anime hair, which is always unnatural.

His ears are normal, his pupils are normal, he looks like a regular human. The outside of him is a real normal human. Could the inside of him be fantasy then? A mixture between reality and fantasy…just what kind of existence is that? What part of him does he prefer, what part of him is the one that takes priority and most of all…never mind. These thoughts are useless.

I don't care about his background and his nature. Friends don't need to know everything about each other, just the fact that we care about each other is enough for me. If he has my back, then I'll have his for as long as I'm in Gensokyo. The bond will be snapped once I leave, or when I prepare to leave.

While we're floating over towards the mansion we see a blue-haired little girl flying around the lake around a larger green-haired little girl. Are those…fairies? Judging based on their wings…yup they're the annoying fairies.

"Not her…" Rinnosuke face curled up into annoyance. He recognizes one of them it seems. What's more is that he thinks they're annoying. I wave over to them.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Rinnosuke looks at me with alarm as if to say, 'what have you done?!' What I've done is shown proper politeness and courtesy towards our fellow neighbors in this land. Actually, whatever annoys him makes me happy.

Both of their eyes lock onto us. Instant regret.

"You two!" The blue one points at us while the green one tries to calm her down.

Predictable little girls. This really is a Gold Experience. I bet this little girl is actually really over a thousand years old. I look over to Rinnosuke who's face has changed over twenty times in an instant. He seems to have steeled himself with heavy resolve.

"Cirno. You're the strongest right?" Eh? This brat's the strongest. That sounds like bullshit to feed her ego.

"Of course! I'm always the strongest." She puffs up in pride and certainty in her own strength. Self-confidence or arrogance born of ignorance?

"There's a group of really strong people that think they're stronger than you." This is really mean Rinnosuke buddy. Baiting someone like that into being a meat shield like that is worth a thousand punishments. Who's the judge of hell in Japan again…the Yama? Yeah, they won't like that at all.

"What? I'll prove to them that I'm the strongest. Point me towards them!" Hook, like, and sinker.

"Wait, Cirno! What if you get hurt?" Her green-haired friend points out. Aren't fairies basically immortal? They come back after death, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

"Don't worry, I'm the strongest! I can't lose." Well I guess we gained a new party member and the ire of her friend. I'd be annoyed at a group of people sweet-talking my friend into getting sacked for them. Except I never had an immortal friend, so my opinion doesn't matter here.

"Come on Caesar and Cirno. We got a mansion to raid!" I fly off into the direction of the mansion. It's by the lake so we don't have to go far. We eventually touch down together and I notice a red-haired person in front of the gate that wasn't there an hour ago. I retract my wings before she notices at least.

"Wake up dumbass!" I shout at her, which shocks her into a fighting stance. It was rude of me, but I'm pretty salty at getting knifed in the ass. There's no way I've forgotten about that. I'll leave my payback to Rinnosuke for that.

"Who are you? Could you be the intruder from earlier?!" Ah, so I'll assume that the whole mansion knows. So much for stealth.

"Yeah, you're right. This JoJo right here snuck through the entire mansion and got away freely. No matter how strong you are, your brains just can't keep up!" Piss them off and make them sloppy. Although this one seems to be a practiced martial artist. I can assume that she's disciplined.

"Cirno, she's super strong and only you can beat her." Rinnosuke, sorry I meant Caesar, is sacking her here. That's fine, I guess.

"Leave it to me! My power is maximum!" She beats her chest in assurance. I actually don't know how strong she is…so maybe she can do something?

"We're counting on you!" I decide to put my faith in her, which makes her preen. Caesar and I decide to fly over the gates and we kick the door open to the mansion in unison. We were greeted with a bunch of fairy maids.

"Hey, hey, hey! What an invitation am I right, Caesar?" I nudge him and create the most generic machine pistols made to fire Dark Matter bullets. MP9s are compact enough to hold with one hand and they are also fully automatic. Perfectly convenient. I set both guns on the fairy maids and light them up.

"You're all too right, JoJo!" Rinnosuke throws bombs of all things that detonate and spread Danmaku instead of shrapnel. These fairies pop like balloons and fall beneath the might of science and technology.

"**You utter fools! Western science is the greatest in the world!**" Rinnosuke decided to switch characters in the middle of combat. He says that he doesn't like to fight, but then he does shit like this that throws off my perception of him!

We're running throughout the mansion while blowing everything up with grins on our faces. My happiness is from messing with this mansion in general while Rinnosuke seems delighted to see all the western influence permeating this mansion. He snatches up the goddamn chandelier hanging from the ceiling and proceeds to store it…somewhere.

"How dare you intrude on this mansion again…!" A maid shaking with silent fury arrives at the top of the stairs. She can't see my face, but I'm grinning. I want her to feel the smile covered by my cloak. I nudge Rinnosuke right before she pulls out the pocket watch, and he sets a lantern down. I feel the world start to stop, but then it automatically flows perfectly once more.

"What…?" The utter look of bafflement on the maid's face makes me feel vindicated. I want to double team her like an ass, but I got things to do. I pat Rinnosuke's back.

"I'll leave this to you Caesar!" I run off to where the basement is. I feel the maid set her stone-cold eyes on me, but Rinnosuke throws a bunch of bombs at her while pulling out a large chain with a hook on the end. It almost looks like an anchor.

"Your opponent is me." Damn! What a badass line! You better deliver on that promise, but knowing my luck you'll probably be chased around the mansion running for your life while ducking from tides of knives.

Oh well. I got a goal in mind. I run towards the basement door and nearly rip it off its hinges. I dash all the way back to the purple door and kick it open. "Pizza delivery!" Wish I had my phone to play the Spiderman pizza song.

I see two people. The same purple pajama girl, and a new one. This one has bat wings coming out of her head and her back. Don't know what she is, but I'm gonna assume typical demon/devil thing. "You…!" Oh, does she remember when I pushed her into the bookshelves?

"My bad." I reply sheepishly. "I actually didn't mean to do that early. You kinda…scared me, so I panicked. No hard feelings, yeah?" My attempts at apologizing were completely rebuffed entirely. Purple looks at demon.

"Koakuma, beat him down." She demands coldly. So, I got a name. Koakuma is the name of the devil. Hmm, sounds kinda weird for some reason.

"Yes master!" Spell card battle? I really don't feel like it though. I put my hands up in a show of surrender and I dematerialize my guns. Koakuma seems to stall at this before glancing at her master.

"Wait, we can all be friends, can't we? I came back here to borrow some books because I want to research something. Well two things actually." I look at pajama girl in hopes that she will accept my apology. I'm doing this because I can't fight two people at once. I don't know I they'll attack me together, but I really don't want to take that risk.

"What's in it for me?" I gasp in shock. She's actually taking time to listen to me? But…what could I give her to make it worth her while. A bookworm type of person like this seems taciturn, and would pursue knowledge at almost any cost. Maybe I can provide her something…

"I'll give you knowledge of an alternate world! One that's seventeen years in the future." Hopefully this is enough to bribe her. She just stares at me with those unblinking, dead purple eyes.

"Acceptable. Take whatever books you need, and nothing more. Koakuma, follow him." Wow! Rinnosuke I hope you're having as much luck as I am. Now I need some books about dimensional travel, time travel, and two language books that can help me translate this book on me.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

Rinnosuke is not having a good time at all. Even with the maid's time manipulation, dodging the knives is proving to be a difficult chore. He's scraping by and grazing through all of the large and small knives. There are even some kunai tossed into the mix. While he's dodging everything, he keeps tossing his seemingly limitless supply of bombs.

The maid is starting to get frustrated. Most of her abilities actually depend on her time manipulation and without it, she's going to have to take her time to wear the merchant down. The merchant in question isn't flying at all. He's keeping to the ground to control his mobility. His combat speed is a bit rusty, so he doesn't want to get an absolute loss from flying.

The maid throws a barrage of knifes that get deflected by the chain. The hook at the end scoops up some knives and throws it back at her. The maid flies above the skewering. The maid throws her knives at the gaps between the chains. Rinnosuke has no choice but to let go if he wants to remained unharmed.

"You've done well to push me this far." He says those words even though he's cheating the maid out of a fair game. Limiting her biggest ability and saying those words may be construed as shameless. He pulls out a weird contraption with a trigger.

He pulls the trigger and a large web shoots out of the machine that nearly covers the entire room. It's too fast for the maid to dodge, and she doesn't have her ability to help her avoid this web. She throws as many knives as possible through the gaps, which shocks the immobile Rinnosuke. He's holding onto the trigger, so he can't move unless his trap becomes disabled.

All of the knives are offset by a rain of black bullets. They scatter around the room, avoiding its initial target due to the actions of another. Both Rinnosuke and the maid look at a strolling Wil with a bag and a gun in his hand. He has an extremely infuriating smirk on his face directed at the maid who's been completely caught in the web.

"Now, JoJo!" Both friends look at each other and move in tandem with each other even though they never fought together. They take the ends of the web and wrap it around the maid, constraining her movements entirely. It looked as though she was wrapped in a hammock that was wrongly put together. All she can do is settle for glaring at the intruders and feeling shame for disappointing her mistress.

They finish off with a fabulous pose.

"Well that's good, now let's bail before the master shows up!" Wil says immediately and motions to run, but Rinnosuke grabs him by the shoulder and points at the very top of the stairs.

"Too late." He says with a shaky smile. He can feel the power emanating from the small figure in front of him. In a place like Gensokyo, small girls are usually the most dangerous. He knows this rule, but Wil doesn't. Wil looks up to where he's pointing and looks confusedly at the person in the distance.

Thankfully he's genre savvy enough to know that there's something off with her. Actually, it's more like he can feel the aura of power flowing off of her. She's giving a devilish smirk to the two intruders. Wil matches her devilish smirk with an angelic smile and points the machine gun at her.

"I didn't expect to have two interesting guests in this mansion today." She begins slowly. "How rude they must be to not greet the master of this mansion" She tries to speak mysteriously and demeans the manners of the two intruders. Wil just gives her a confused look.

"Of course, we're being rude. We intruded on your mansion. You'd be strange to think we could be polite." Rinnosuke looks at Wil in horror because he forgot how blunt he can be at times. What he doesn't know is that Wil has a hidden acerbic side that he rarely shows anyone. Mostly because that's his true self. He's trying to clamp it down, so he substitutes sharp words for blunt ones.

"How right you are!" The vampire just laughs in that stupid laugh where she holds the back of her hand in front of her mouth. Wil's eyes are twitching and Rinnosuke knows that he hates this kind of display. "I believe I should inform you of my name. I am Remilia Scarlet, the great vampire master of this mansion."

"Called it." Wil whispers to Rinnosuke.

"Even an idiot could call that." Rinnosuke whispers back.

Remilia gets a little annoyed that the two are ignoring her grand speech. The maid seems to be struggling to get up, but Rinnosuke sits on her. He could only be this bold because his identity is hidden. Wil looks at what Rinnosuke did with a strange smile coming across his face. He closes his eyes and tries to think of a way to match Rinnosuke's guts.

Wil looks at the annoyed little vampire for a moment before an idea crosses his mind. He points both of his fingers at the mistress.

"Your next line is, "How dare you ignore my great majesty!"" This is the first time he's done it and any proper JoJo fan would want to do the same. He's desperately hoping that he predicted her next words with the perfect voice. Annoyance turns into irritation.

"How dare you ignore my great majest—what?!" Wil grins in excitement that he landed that line perfectly. He's so happy, that he could die. He's not going to try it again because he doesn't think he can predict it twice in a row…or can he? Irritation turns into anger.

"Then, "Are you a mind reader?"" He greedily goes for the second one.

"Are you a mind reader?" She double-takes at what she just said and nearly glares at the cloaked figure mocking her. His shit-eating grin cannot be seen, but it's definitely conveyed through only feeling. His eyes start shining. Anger turns into rage.

"Finally, "Stop doing that!"" They both say that at the same time. Wil pumps his fist in pride from timing it perfectly right before he jumps backward to avoid a large ball that would have crushed him. He looks up at the stomping vampire before realizing that what he did was a horrible mistake. Rinnosuke was struck dumb at the bantering between these two that he forgot that he should've stopped Wil.

Rinnosuke throws a smoke bomb down, and instantly drops metal pillars down. He pulls off both of their cloaks and puts them on the pillar to show an elementary deception. Both of them take off in the smoke. Wil gets in front of them and kicks open the doors while they both dash out. They see a fairy sitting on top of the gatekeeper.

"Nice going Cirno! You really are the strongest!" Wil doesn't forget to praise her, which she begins preening at.

"It's time to go though." Black wings erupt out of Wil's back and he grabs the back of the fairy's shirt and Rinnosuke's shirt. He takes off into the sky with blazing speed. He drops the fairy off by the lake while still flying and flies off back to Kourindou.

* * *

"Wasn't that fun?" They've both taken off their voice changers and hidden them into the deepest depths of the store where no one can find them. Rinnosuke realizes something dangerous though.

"Can't a vampire track us by smell though? She has those cloaks of ours." Wil waves off his concerns with an assured smile.

"You worry too much. Those cloaks were made to be scentless. Don't underestimate my ability, you hear? Also, aren't fairies supposed to be weak? How the hell did she beat that gate guard?"

"Some fairies are a special case. Cirno is the fairy of winter who's naturally stronger than some Youkai. During the colder days of winter, Cirno might as well call herself the strongest. She still isn't, but she increases in strength pretty crazily." Wil nods his head.

"I see, and the drawback must be that she gets much weaker than normal in the summer."

"Exactly. Now, let's analyze the spoils of war and talk about proper behavior when talking to a potential enemy." Wil actually glares at Rinnosuke for this. He can't believe the hypocrisy in those words.

"Don't you dare even bring that up. You think I didn't hear you trying to smother yourself due to holding in your laughter? You were turning purple. You even sat on the maid because you think you wouldn't be detected." Rinnosuke attempts to raise a counterpoint only to realize he doesn't have one.

"Whatever." He shrugs his shoulder and acts like he wasn't the one who brought up the subject. He then pulls out many objects out of his clothes much to Wil's utter confusion. He drops the on the ground and uses his magic to find out what they are. Wil is going to have to explain how to use them later on, but right now he seems to be going through an existential crisis trying to figure out how he managed to pull a whole chandelier out of there.

He just tells himself it's hammer space to save his sanity.

"So, what did you get?" Rinnosuke asks in anticipation. Wil then realizes he got a bunch of books and he feels like he's going to get hounded. Good thing that he needs to read them anyways.

He begrudgingly opens up the bag, but then the door begins to open with the jingling of the bells.. The person who entered the store is staring at the two people manning the place. Rinnosuke is behind the counter reading a book and looks up as if he didn't notice that she was entering the store before.

Wil was sitting on a chair and he greets the customer. "Good day. What's the name of this potential customer?" The only thing showing that he noticed the person entering the store before, is a bag hidden behind him expertly. He cannot turn his body at all, or he will be found out.

"Izayoi Sakuya." She stares at him with cold grey eyes. Wil's back starts sweating a bit. Rinnosuke decides to save him.

"Miss Izayoi, what are you looking for in this store?" He greets her with a neutral look. She then turns to him much to the relief of Wil. The maid nearly found him out.

"I've only come here to see if any stolen goods have been sold here. If you see any goods that look like they belong in a mansion, contact us." She gives him an address. She then vanishes from the room. They wait for five minutes before they start talking again. They were worried that the maid was hidden, waiting for them to speak and out themselves.

"Holy shit! That was both unlucky and lucky at the same time!" Wil truly thought that their identities were compromised somehow. He looks at the bag in his hand. "I'm going to go store this in the house." Rinnosuke nods and gives him permission.

The skill that was required to pull of hiding all of the stolen goods was too high for just one person to pull off. It was like they knew each other for years when they worked in tandem. When the bell started jingling, Rinnosuke threw all the goods in the air and Wil widened the bag. The objects were deafened by the books, so the maid didn't notice the sound. He then shrunk the bag as much as possible and hid it behind his body. The chandelier nearly tore the bag open though.

After that, the maid walked into the store fully and Wil greeted her like nothing was wrong.

When Wil felt that bag straining against his body he started panicking. When the maid locked onto him he nearly dropped his facade. Rinnosuke had no choice but to cover for him and save both of their hides.

* * *

**Wil POV**

Woah damn, that was close as hell. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding in. Rinnosuke didn't even have his lantern on him. He stored it away along with the voice changers. I walk back from the house to the store.

"Yo, I'm back." Rinnosuke looks over at me.

"Did you store your goods and mine?" I give him a nod. "In a place that wouldn't be detected by a cursory view of the entire house?" I nod again, give him a thumbs up and a smirk.

"Good." He lets out a breath of relief. He feels the same way I do. "Let's close the store for the rest of the day. The trip has been very fruitful even though it's only seven in the morning. Very interesting day today." We're closing already? Well, more things for me to do. A lot of free time to do whatever. There is something I need to check out that's been bothering me for a while. Should I do it though?

Let's see…I can either study the dimension traveling books, or I can go outside and explore then return to the books. I think I'm going to go out and relax from that stressful situation. Then come back once my mind is at peace.

"I'll be out for a bit." I wave him goodbye before shutting the doors. I spread the same wings and visit a place that's been calling me and rejecting me at the same time. No, it's more like I've been rejecting it. I don't like the feeling of the place at all, but I need to check it out.

When I initially flew around the mountain and reached the Human Village, I noticed something strange not far from the village. Also located from the opposite side of the mountain.

Before that though, I'm gonna be flying around all of Gensokyo to relax before stepping anywhere near that off-putting place.

* * *

I check my watch after noticing a full moon. It's nine on the dot. I've been relaxing and letting myself fly for too long. I've been hesitating to visit this place, but I need to check it out. It's giving me a strange feeling. I don't like it all, but I'm not the type of person to let something bother me and not check it out.

I have to find out the reason for why this strange place bothers me.

I touch down and retract my wings. I've landed in a field of sunflowers. I need to go deeper in. I ignore all of the Youkai staring at me. They seem to be worried not for me, but at something else? Gotta go even deeper into the field. I wonder what they're worried about? Maybe there's a really strong human who patrols here and makes sure they don't attack people? Or...could there be a really strong Youkai who goes berserk when their territory is being intruded upon.

I walk deeper into this field of sunflowers. Sunflowers usually point towards where the sun or the moon is if I recall correctly, so why are they pointed towards me. Every single sunflower in the field is opened up in my direction. The heads of the sunflower seem to be staring at me, like they possess eyes.

Eventually I wind up in a place where there are no Youkai at all. Not even fairies, just an endless field of sunflowers. The backdrop of the starry sky and the full moon beaming down onto this field makes it look beautiful. The wonder is squandered by this disgusted feeling I'm getting towards something.

"No, it's someone." I note to myself after seeing that someone walking closer to me. A short green haired lady wearing red plaid pants, a waistcoat matching the pants over a white shirt and a yellow ribbon tied around her collar. She's carrying a closed parasol with her. Her eyes flash green, then turn back to their normal red.

I squeeze my fists tightly. I feel my nails digging into my palm, but I don't care. I clench my jaw tightly and hold back this irrational anger I feel towards her. She's looking at me with an emotion that I cannot identify. She's neither smiling nor frowning.

"I was sleeping, but I detected an intruder." She says more to herself than to me. "I never expected to find someone like you."

Yeah, same here. I thought it was just this area giving me a strange feeling. It's actually this person and only her giving me this strange feeling of rejection. I feel drawn to her, but I feel rejected as well. I hate it completely. I disdain this person in front of me for no reason.

This feeling proves that we can never get along. Yeah…I should've known that a Youkai like this could never get along with me. Something like her could only be a damn Youkai. I breathe out slowly as she does the same.

""So, this is hate at first sight…""

I'd expect us to start fighting each other immediately, but we just stand there looking at each other. As i analyze her, she's probably doing the same. I'm not going to take my eyes off of her for a second though.

"I am Kazami Yuuka." She's not getting any respect from me at all. I can't fight this feeling in me.

"I'm Wil." People in Japan add honorifics and say last names to show respect right? I don't feel like even trying with this monster in front of me. This...Yuuka gives me a chill down my spine, but more than that, my anger overrides any other emotion I feel towards her.

I've always felt an irritation at first sight towards every single person in Gensokyo, but I just thought it was because I was spirited away here by that damn darkness. I can accept feeling that because I fought through that and befriended Rinnosuke, but here...it feels much different. It's almost like meeting your most hated enemy from a past life, if that makes any sense at all.

Recognizing an emotion towards a person you've never met feels strange.

I wonder what she feels towards me. I hope she feels the same way. Judging by the way she's gripping that parasol with both hands very tightly, I'm right. I'm glad to be right cause that means I don't have to show any other feeling when fighting her. I know that we're going to fight. There's no other outcome for this encounter. Whether I'm lucky or unlucky will depend on the end of this battle.

"Let's start this already, you disgusting bitch." I glare at her and spread six shimmering white wings. My foul mouth didn't surprise her at all.

"I agree, you revolting, unnatural human." The earth beneath us starts shaking and the sunflower petals close up halfway.

_**This will not be a nonlethal spell card battle.**_


	5. Old World Fool

Chapter 5

**-Garden of the Sun-**

I would've suffered an instant loss had I not have taken to the skies immediately. Thorny vines beneath the ground erupted up as if to swallow me whole. I tore them all to pieces with the strength of my wings and the fury of the wind. More vines rush at me, the sheer number of them covering up her sneer directed towards me.

I swerve around them and rip them all to shreds before they reached me. They stop coming at me and I notice a distinct lack of a bitchy green in my sights.

I look down to see Yuuka swing her umbrella horizontally at me. The sheer wind pressure from the swing is enough to nearly knock me out of the sky. Fortunately, I put my arms up and buffered the force.

God, just look at this bitch. With her bitchy parasol, her bitchy clown colors, and her bitchy face. What a total bitch. Even has the aura of a complete bitch. She surpassed thottery and went straight into ultimate bitch.

Simple bullets won't do shit against this monster. That's why I have use everything at my disposal. I create halberds, spears, axes, swords, and launch them all at the enemy before me. I even start twisting the air around me with all of the Dark Matter being thrown around.

I'm using all my brain power to calculate this shit into existence.

Matter that doesn't exist operate under laws that don't exist. When they intersect with the natural laws of this world, who knows what would happen. Maybe in small quantities it would be fine, but with the amount I'm throwing around….

"Is that all you have?" She says with a mocking smile. She's left completely unharmed from the rain of Dark Matter. I make my wings face forward and fire off a laser at her. I see the smallest minute widening of her eyes before she puts her umbrella up. This type of laser can push anyone away.

It may not be able to damage her, but it can definitely send her flying. Too bad that this Youkai isn't normal at all. She slid off the ground momentarily, then sent the path of the laser flying upwards. She then holds the closed parasol facing my direction and charges something of her own. A laser erupts from the point of the parasol.

I decide to take it head on with my wings. I put them in front of me as a guard. There's no way I can accept being inferior to her. Not to someone like her…! I spread my wings to scatter the laser to the air. I reach my hand into the sky and summon a gigantic blade of Dark Matter to fall upon my opponent. Before I even give it the sharpness and weight of a proper weapon befitting its size, I hastily slam it towards her direction.

I drop the 20-meter weapon on her skull. She slams her parasol onto the flat of the blade and shatters it completely. That's fine though. I use the shards of broken Dark Matter and surround the Youkai with it. The speeds at which it's moving creates a forceful tornado.

The sharp blades and the heavy winds I made should at least do something.

"Irritating." Nothing at all?! "Annoying. Worthless. Revolting. Something that shouldn't exist, couldn't exist; therefore, I will end your existence here." She declares those terrifying words as she vanishes from my eyesight. I instantly duck out of a random guess and feel a shear of wind pass by my head.

The wind pressure continues onward, lifting up all off the sunflower petals to be illuminated by the moonlight. I extend my wings backwards to push her away from me. These wings are special. Special enough to smash this abominable Youkai away and cause some damage hopefully.

She's like an unceasing juggernaut who just won't stop coming to fight me. Although, the same could be said for me. After catching herself on the ground, she takes to the skies and bombards my location with a wave of Danmaku. I guarantee that those are the lethal versions though.

**"Fantasy "The Beauties of Nature.""**

A swirl of red and yellow balls charge at me. A myriad of red flowers also cover my vision. They are spreading out an all directions around her. These blasts are strong, really strong. But that's expected coming from a spell card. This is lethal too. If I get crushed by this, then I'll definitely die. I can't afford for that to happen to me. I have to counter this lethal wave with one of my own.

Yeah…making Danmaku lethal shouldn't be too difficult. If she can do it, then I definitely can. I just need to rewire my settings and keep up with her in every single way! "I'll definitely blow you away!" I shout out in rage.

**"Foreign Sign "Dark Matter!"**

My very first spell card. The one I used against the Kappa should be perfect for this battle. Over twenty-five thousand different types of energy bombarding the other spell card. She has quality, but quantity is a quality of its own!

I counter that innumerable amount of Danmaku with an even greater amount of my own. They don't need to be as powerful, just enough to offset them or explode them into disarray.

Crack—

—Shatter.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

"Just where the hell has he been?" Rinnosuke is wondering in his shop. He's closed for the day, but that doesn't stop Marisa from visiting. He's reading a book while halfheartedly entertaining the visit of the ordinary magician.

"Who're you talkin' about-ze?" As expected of Marisa. This person is a magician who only focuses on what she considers important or interesting at the moment. Rinnosuke let's out a sigh from annoyance.

"My only employee. He's been out for more than twelve hours and he hasn't even eaten…I think. I at least hope he hasn't gotten into any trouble. He has a foul mouth and bad luck, but I drilled the knowledge of dangerous locations into him." He thinks to himself.

He instantly realizes that he only focused on the dangerous locations and not the small regions. "He can't be unlucky enough to wander into a dangerous Youkai's territory right…? He should be strong enough to handle them though."

"If yer so concerned about what Youkai he's facin', why don't ya guess at the most dangerous ones?" Those words convince him to imagine just how bad his luck could be.

"There's Yukari, but he promised me not to antagonize her. There's the Youkai in Hell, but not even he would do something so stupid. I think?" He's getting a little concerned. He then remembers a single terrifying Youkai who's been in Gensokyo for as long as he can remember.

Which is frankly very scattered and messed up. Marisa notices how her friend's hand froze before turning the next page of his book.

"There's no way possible way he would run into Kazami…would he? He would have no reason to go there. Even if he did, he's not stupid enough to stay and fight her after experiencing her power." He convinces himself. He would be right, if Wil was thinking straight. Unfortunately for Rinnosuke, neither Wil nor Yuuka are thinking clearly.

* * *

The first spell cards used have been broken.

Wil is breathing heavily in contrast to Yuuka's nearly pristine state. The only thing showing damage is a bruise on her face from a danmaku bomb. Wil scowls at her and decides to make a daring move. He flies at her with blinding speeds and fires off a laser.

The force of the laser helps him to stop in place. Yuuka deflects the laser with a single swing of her parasol, but Wil dashes in a burst of speed again while she's open. The female Youkai didn't expect this risky move and she had her face caught in an iron claw. Before she could rip that hand off, Wil's other hand reached for her shoulder and gripped tightly.

He pivots on his left leg, spins around to lift her off the ground, and _throws _her into the skies while preparing a different kind of laser. While the previous ones were black, this one is a shining white laser coming straight from his hands. The wings give off motes of light that touch down on the ground. The abnormal glow contrasts with a dark-green glow on Yuuka.

Her parasol glows a furious red as it charges up a megaton laser designed to blow away her opponent completely. Both of lasers fire at each other and begin clashing for dominance. There's only a single thought going through their mind.

'We cannot live under the same sky.' The resolve to destroy is burning through everything else for them. Their direct contrasting natures fuels their antipathy towards each other.

This hatred born of a disdainful rivalry exploded due to unnatural circumstances. An outsider, not just one foreign to Gensokyo, but one foreign to the universe which it is contained met one who's an avatar of nature itself.

Yuuka is the purest natural being born from the world while Wil is completely foreign. Not only that, but their contrasting abilities serve as a dichotomy all too well. Wil's Dark Matter creates which doesn't exist and gives meaning to what doesn't exist. The meaning given also doesn't exist.

Yuuka manipulates nature. Wil manipulates the unnatural.

But even that is still not enough to explain the raw hatred both of them feel for each other. Some believe that extreme hatred can only be born of extreme love. These two are an exception to this belief. Their natures, abilities, mindsets, their everything opposes each other naturally.

Acceptance is impossible.

The unnatural thing about this is that Yuuka was not meant to have a natural enemy. The contradiction of the natural and unnatural was born, which created this feeling of hatred on Yuuka's end.

Wil's end is even more bizarre.

The lasers cancelled each other out. Both of them going full force was enough to tear a hole in the middle of the collision. The gap of oxygen caused a pulling effect on both of them. The air had to pull in more air to substitute what was destroyed. They are being pulled closer to each other from the aftereffect of the clash.

While Yuuka's hatred can be explained…Wil's cannot. It's irrational, inexplainable, impossible to comprehend. Just like the nature of his ability. But just like how his unnatural matter can be given a meaning, his irrational feelings towards the Youkai can barely be logically explained.

Danmaku cancel out Danmaku. More blasts and balls offset each other as one charges the other without care for his own life. He prematurely dodges the swing of the parasol trying to take his head off from a prediction. He slams his fist right into Yuuka's bruise, sending her a bit away from him.

Using that opening he extends one of the wings towards her broken guard. She catches it with her hand and pulls Wil towards her. She winds up her parasol and swings downward on his skull. The remaining wings protect his head as best as possible. Three wings were torn to pieces and the ground beneath them completely shattered.

Yuuka lost her footing to carry out the full swing and Wil backed off immediately.

It's the same reason why Yuuka despises him except so much more. Her very existence serves to prove Wil's own unnatural existence in this world. He recognized the need to meet her. He also recognized his inexplicable wrath towards her. He's not supposed to be in this world. So why…!

He hates her. That's all that matters.

**"****Crisis Sign "Adversity Reaches The Turning Point Of Continuity!""**

He did it. He fired off a lethal spell card. What's more is it's one that hasn't been used by him before. He has no idea what it can do. It's irrational, utterly mad, yet it's how far he will go to win at any cost against the being before him.

The spell card activates and causes the formation of a flintlock pistol into Wil's hand. He immediately fires it at Yuuka who prepares to dodge it. There is zero recoil from the shot. A loud gunshot sounded out across the field. It echoed throughout the entirety of the Garden of the Sun.

The bullet flies at literally impossible speeds and pierces through her without any wounds showing much to Yuuka's surprise. Yet, there is a bloodstain. Twenty stakes converge on that bloodstain and pierce through the Youkai at all angles, nailing her like a witch to a cross. A spray of blood bursts from the wounds. It drips onto the flowers nourishing them with the fertilizer of pure life.

Danmaku begin converging in on the location, desiring the end of the demon in its line of sight. The demon in question stops holding back for the sake of the garden and the denizens living in it. The field of sunflowers has been rendered barren, and the danmaku and stakes have been annihilated.

The damage wasn't undone though. The power of the unknown and unnatural coursing through her from the spell card almost feels like it's rejecting her entire existence, like her soul is being burned. If this was enough to do her in, then she wouldn't be worthy of being called the Flower Master of Four Seasons. Glowing green eyes look at dull brown eyes.

"Aw, now I have to replant this area." Her monotone voice barely disguises the hidden fury. Her clothes aren't ripped, her body isn't pierced on all sides, and she is uninjured despite Wil seeing her get staked.

She stands tall. Wil is shocked by her appearance. It feels like she wasn't injured at all to him, but he knew she was. He guesses that it's regeneration. She gives him a mocking smile tinged with something else in it. What Wil saw…

**Was enough to send him over the edge.**

He winds up for another barrage of blasts, but his body starts giving out on him. His wings start losing their form and he falls to the ground coughing up blood. Not only is it seeping out of his mouth, but his eyes and nose as well. He has no idea what's going on, but he frankly doesn't care. He saw Yuuka look at him with minor shock, which disappears into a smile.

Wil charges at the smiling Youkai not caring about the surge of magic washing over his body. He rapidly kicks at the parasol with extreme speed sending shockwaves throughout the clearing. He bounces off and swings his arm to the right. Yuuka dodges the path of that arm which sends a scar of Dark Matter throughout the ground.

In his haze of wrath, Wil didn't notice the hand coming for him. He felt the hand touch his stomach and he saw a glowing ball start to form in it. He dematerializes his wings and focuses the remaining amount of calculations on putting up a shield in that region. She slams the ball of energy into his gut. An explosion echoes throughout the night, blasting Wil from the screen of smoke.

He tumbles on the ground falling on his back. He looks upward at the full moon taunting him of his folly. He immediately stands up while ignoring his injuries. The strain from doing that nearly made him white out from the pain. It feels like his mind his cracking from the strain of his calculations.

"Everything ends tonight." He whispers to himself. He's going to risk his entire life with the next attack. He attempts to will his wings back to shape, but he's interrupted by the swift Youkai.

"I won't let you do whatever you want any longer." A melodic voice in front of him reaches his ears. He didn't have a chance to prepare his last attack because she completely interrupted it. He had no choice but to block a full power swing from a grinning Kazami Yuuka.

The sheer speed and strength of the attack was enough to tear the air in front of it. It was already aiming for his chest before he could think or see it. It's impossible for him to block this attack.

Wil instantly reacted to that speed and put up both of his arms vertically to weather the blow. He tries to hold himself in place, but he hears a snap from his forearms and the searing pain is enough to distract him. His eyes widen in pain. "You—" He just realized something.

The extreme force of the blow proved to be too much and sent him flying off into the horizon. Yuuka's smile didn't go down in the slightest once he was evicted, but her mood did. The wonderful field around her has to be restored.

"Hmm…" She holds a finger up to her lips. "I've never felt this way towards someone before. Such hatred even made me irrational." She looks at the parasol that she smacked Wil across Gensokyo with. She opens it up and uses it to shield herself from the moonlight as she walks off in the distance. She takes on last glance in the direction where Wil was sent, then vanishes.

* * *

**-Bamboo Forest of the Lost-**

A person crashed through the ground like a meteor leaving a long furrow displacing all the dirt. He eventually stopped at a long bamboo shoot. He's barely keeping his consciousness from that heavy blow. The man is matted with blood all over his head and body. His back scraped against the ground leaving a wide trail of blood.

The wounds are mostly superficial except for two extreme injuries.

"So, that's why I hate you…" He tries to stand up, but he finds that he cannot move his arms at all. He recalled that snapping sound he heard when he blocked the baseball swing. He got home-runned all the way to this random place and he can't move at all.

"Ah, it's useless. It's all useless!" He sighs and tries to psyche himself up. Wil is the type of person to do something when it looks impossible. He can be considered stubborn in a way. He's realized the power of that Youkai, but it only makes him want to destroy her even more. Not because of her power, but because of her nature. He's a person ruled by his superego.

"Are they broken or fractured?" It came from his forearm, so he's assuming an extremely large fracture. He can barely move his pinky, but the rest of his fingers are immobile. He leans up with nothing but his upper body and props himself up on the bamboo shoot. He analyzes where he's landed up.

"Nothing but bamboo as far as the eye can see…did I end up in China?" He put some humor in the situation to keep his mind off of what he just fought. It comes barreling back to him at full force. He tries to rub his face, but remembers that his arms are still messed up.

"That fucking…" He hears footsteps. A lot of them converging on his location. He takes deep breathes, but it does nothing to mitigate the dull pain in his bones. The first thing to enter his sight is a weird reptile creature. Next is a panda monster. Many Youkai see an injured human for a free meal.

"Today isn't your lucky day…" One of the lizards whisper to him in a mocking tone.

"I don't have lucky days." He responds tonelessly. This day has been a rollercoaster for him. He raided a mansion for nearly no reason, now he's on the verge of getting devoured by a bunch of Youkai.

"Karma…don't care for shit like that." He has no intention of dying here at all, but he's feeling too tired to even move. It's a good thing that his brain is still running strong out of spite. There's no way he'll die because of a green-haired bitch.

"Come on and bite down on me, I guarantee you'll be choking on your own blood." The Youkais took that as an invitation. Wil was about to counterattack from a sitting position, but a rush of flames cut off the momentum of the Youkai. The blazing stream surrounds him and another person.

"I hear a big commotion and I find some Youkai trying to eat someone?" Wil turns to the unlikely source of help. "You guys growin' bold while I'm still here?" She raised an irritated brow, which seems to send fear into the Youkai.

The Youkai immediately find their lost momentum and use it to charge in the opposite direction. His sudden helper didn't bother to chase them down and decided to look at the injured Wil. He stares at an ivory-haired girl from the ground with exhausted eyes.

"Am I in hell?" The fire's still surrounding them and in his delirious state, he still tries to joke around.

"No brimstone here." The other bluntly responds. Wil attempts to stand up without the use of his arms much to his chagrin. He eventually manages it. The girl looks at his black and blue arms in confusion.

"Can't use them. By the way, what's your name." The girl across from him shrugs her shoulders with hands in pockets. Much to Wil's bemusement, she's actually wearing pants. A hakama at that.

"Fujiwara no Mokou. What are you even doing here?" She glowers at Wil. He can only give a helpless smile as he explains what happened as best he can.

"I got fucked up." Is the only thing he said.

"I can see that!" Mokou snaps at him. "What I want to know is who and how? Also, what actually happened here? There's no Youkai strong enough to make this big of a mess around here." She points at the fallen bamboo and large furrow leading to his body.

"I got knocked all the way over here in a fight. I had my arms snapped from the impromptu airline services. Terrible service, it was like flying United Airlines." All the wound-up tension seeped out of his body from the earlier fight. He motioned to shrug his shoulders but the act sent tremors of pain through his nerves.

He deeply sucked in a cold breath through his teeth. "Could you get me out of here?"

"Yeah." She shuts up and leaves. Wil follows her with dangling arms thankfully still in their sockets.

"Wait, can you undo this firestorm?" It's still burning the ground and some of the bamboo. She stops for a second and doesn't say anything. Wil understood that she can't do it. "It's okay, we all make mistakes." He tries to comfort her, but she turns around and glares at him. All he can do is give off a sheepish laugh.

Both individuals are meandering through the bamboo forest at a brisk pace. After the initial conversation everything went silent between them.

Wil's focusing on his next move after getting out of the forest and Mokou's focused on getting a random person out of the easy-to-get-lost-in forest.

* * *

**Wil POV**

We've been walking through the forest for what feels like half an hour now. It's been giving me time to think. I shouldn't have fought Yuuka like that, but I don't regret my actions nor the outcome. I wonder if Rinnosuke's got a wonderful healing tool that can patch me right up…? My arms are fucked and my back is fully numb. Don't think that's a good thing at all. I think I got a concussion as well.

I'm definitely going for the round two though. Definity, for sure, most likely, absolutely getting the run back on that fight. There's no way I'm gonna let that go…being knocked out of the park like a baseball. I clench my fist in furious anticipation.

"Hey, Mokou." This quiet walk is getting a bit stale for me though. She makes some strange grunting noise, so I'm gonna assume she's listening. "You ever run into someone you really hate?"

She gives a deep nod. "How did you deal with that person. Someone you just can't live under the same sky with?" Am I wrong for trying to kill someone like that?

"Don't really hate her much anymore. Time does a lot." Time…? This burning hatred feels like it'll never go out until my life does. It feels like it's intrinsically linked to my life. And I don't care for dying until I get back to my world.

"Not the answer I was looking for, but okay. I'll keep that in mind for later." The silence returns, but it doesn't feel awkward at all. It feels amiable. and peaceful. I could use more moments like these in my life. Unfortunately like all good moments in my life, it all comes to an end all too soon. We reach the end of the forest.

"Hmm? Where you going?" I catch her right before she nearly leaves without me knowing.

"Home. Is there something else you need?" I open my mouth, but nothing's coming out. Ah…I wish I could revel in this moment just a little longer. I shake my head and I just leave. If I can't have something then I let it go.

"Thanks, by the way." I leave off those last words before we part ways. That was an interesting diversion. Now…

I look off to where I think that field of sunflowers is. Should I go back and finish the fight with my broken arms? I'm nearly at the Human Village, so I'm also close to that garden. I make my decision and prepare to act on it, but I'm interrupted by silver-haired glasses.

Oops, I mean a silver-haired guy with glasses. He looks at me with annoyance before he notices the state of my body. Overall, I think he's pretty good at doing the gaping fish movement.

"Oh, what's up Rinny?" I shorten his name for fun, which makes him lock on to me with laser eyes. I want to wave at him, but my arms are in bad shape.

"Don't…ever call me that again." He puts his hands on my shoulder and shakes me. It hurts so I agree immediately with a hasty nod of my head.

Talk about a scary dude. "So, what happened to you? I thought you would step out for a bit. Now it's nighttime and it looks like you were run over by a tractor." Hmmm…should I tell him? He might know of her weaknesses.

"I got into a big fight and survived thanks to the help of someone. You know any healing magic or something like that?" He lets out a sigh.

"Follow me. I have something for your injuries. You must tell me what happened for you to end up like this. I know you aren't weak." I give him a shoddy grin. My mind's a wreck at the moment, so my calculations are going to be weaker. Doesn't mean I won't go fight that bitch a second-time though. I'll fight her a third and fourth until I win.

It won't end with anything else if I have anything to say about it. I follow Rinnosuke back to Kourindou. "Marisa stopped by earlier." I look at him in confusion.

"Okay…? Why are you telling me this? Also, didn't you close the store?" He lets out a grim chuckle filled with despair. He looks at me with distorted eyes, which start unnerving me.

"You think I can stop her?!" Ah, never mind. He probably wanted my help to kick her out. I know how important it is to have some time to yourself. Like when you're under the sheets with your phone and someone opens the door to see you all sweaty and flushed. I wasn't there to help him because I was busy.

"You don't need to say anything else. I got the picture now. Don't you think she likes to sneak in because she's in love with you?" He looks at me with a strange smile and starts laughing. Hard. I've never seen someone breakdown in laughter like this. I think he's gonna die if he keeps at it.

"Wow…that was a good one!" He wipes the sweat of his forehead after catching his breath. "You thought…she liked me? Are you dense?!" He yells at me after laughing. He looks like I suggested the end of the world or something.

I pound my fist in my palm. "Sorry, I get it now." He nods his head as he finally got through to me. "You're one of those dense harem protagonists who can't realize when a girl has a crush on him." I say that with an honest smile.

He immediately rounds on me and flicks both of my forearms. "Fuck! You shithead! What was that for?!" I want to hold them in pain, but I can't move my hands to grasp them all that well, so all I can do is yell in agony.

"Was I wrong?!" His eyes are blazing with the passion of a thousand suns.

"Listen Wil! There's something I must teach you about Gensokyo." His blaze of passion lights up the night like a second sun. His spirit even keeps away the Youkai from us. I take a seat in seiza position in the middle of the forest to listen to my temporary teacher. He immediately takes a teaching pose and pulls out a whiteboard.

Sitting in this position feels weird for my arms though.

"There are a lot of women in Gensokyo! They are all high-quality and pretty damn good-looking if I have to say so myself." His eyes flash with honesty. "What do my words mean to you?!" I raise my hand like a proper student.

"It means…?" I stutter a bit to come up with an answer. "That for guys like us, we are out of their leagues?" That's the answer that comes to me. Rinnosuke glowers in pride as he pushes up his glasses.

"Exactly my student! We cannot hope to get in a relationship unless they give us permission!" That just sounds like you have low self-confidence. Not like I'm any different though.

Also, are you touched in the head?

"So…what you're telling me is…you can't tell when a girl likes you, and the only way for you to find out is if they confess to you?" He immediately throws an eraser at my head. I allow it to hit my forehead dead on. I feel like I got the answer right, but it's not one he wants to hear.

"Wrong! I'm not dense!" No, I'm definitely right! You're definitely a dense dumbass with poor business sense!

"I see that there's still much I have to teach you. Very well…" He gets quiet at the end. The whiteboard and eraser just fade out of existence. Gensokyo's too weird for a person like me.

"I understand what I must do!" The shine of his eyes makes the lens of his glasses flare. It's blinding.

I have I very bad feeling. "For now, let's just patch you up." We immediately start walking back. We wind up back at Kourindou. It feels like I haven't been back here in a while. Holy hell, today was just too crazy.

"Alright let's check out your wounds here. Strip." He commands me. Of course, I listen and let him run his magic glowing hands all over me.

That definitely sounds weird out of context.

He pushes his glasses up. "I see. Your internal system is out of sync. I don't know how you ruptured your blood vessels like this. Internal bleeding in the brain? Hemorrhaging? Your forearms are nearly broken. Your back has been scraped to the nerves…probably why you barely feel anything. To top it all off, you have a concussion." He looks at me very seriously. The most I've seen him ever.

"So, I did a bad?" He sighs.

"Yes, you did a bad. Tell me, how did these injuries happen? I don't think you would do this to yourself, unless you picked up a suicidal trait. You most likely got into a deadly fight with someone."

"Kazami Yuuka." I look to the side and answer his unanswered question. I turn back to see him go extremely pale. He's doing the gaping fish impression again.

"Y-y-y-you…DUMBASS!" He smacks the back of my concussed head. I look back up at him with irritation in my eyes. "She's extremely dangerous! Don't ever go back there again…wait no, you need to apologize. But, what if she decides to off you permanently?" Rinnosuke keeps jumping back and forth between moods and thought processes.

"There's no way we can get along. We're people that have to fight to the death. Natural nemeses." I correct his misconception. "Whether you heal me up or not, I'm returning back there and finishing the job. No matter how many tries it takes."

"What…?"

"No matter how many times my body breaks, my mind submits, and my heart abstains, I won't ever give up fighting her until I win. I'm going to keep pressing continue no matter how many times I get a game over to stand back up and fight her again. Even if I resurrect with half health, I'll still fight till the end." I say that all in a single breath looking him dead in the eyes.

"You…" He pushes up his glasses. "Were it for any other goal, I would have commended your perseverance. But for something like this…I can't let you continue on this self-destructive path." I let out a sigh. He doesn't understand at all.

"Fine…I won't fight her anymore. I do owe the person who helped me get to you anyways." He gives off a smile that makes me feel just a little guilty. I don't care in the end because it's not gonna hurt him…only me.

I said I wasn't going to fight her. I never said anything about not killing her though. Besides that's not the only goal that I can approach with this single-minded determination. I still have to get home to my time and my world. I must get back no matter what.

"Are you alright?" He asks me, which snaps me out of my darkening mood. I look back up with eyes filled with concern. Now why don't I have anyone like this back in my world…?

"I got some special bandages here. Wear them for a whole week and you'll be patched up as good as new." He begins wrapping me like a mummy. As long as he doesn't cover my mouth. I need that to snark people with.

"Done. Now…time for teaching." What? "You thought I was done? There's something you must know. You must know how women think!" He immediately slams a book on the table between us. That thing is at least two thousand words long. I look at it in mute dread and horror.

It has no title and it's extremely dusty. "This is a book about women and their ways. You will read this and understand what they seek. Hopefully this will help you deal with Kazami peacefully…" He murmurs at the end.

There's no way I'm going to read that, so I immediately will my body to pass out on top of the book. The last thing I see is Rinnosuke looking at me with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Did you really just go to sleep to avoid this…? Well, no matter. You'll just read it later." Rinnosuke looks a bit subdued as he watches his roommate? Acquaintance? Friend? He watches Wil sleep on the table. He grabs a blanket and puts it over to him while he retires for the night.

I'm clocking out for the night.

* * *

"It's too damn early to deal with this shit in the morning…" I hear a large number of explosions disturb me from the slumber. I heard that people who have concussions can't sleep, but screw that noise. If I'm tired, you bet your ass I'm going to rest!

"I can't do that with this racket!" I immediately stand up and notice that I have some feeling in my fingers back. I can move my hand, but my arms are still in pain. That's good enough to function for me though. I open the door to Kourindou and look at a wonderful sight.

The blonde witch on top of Rinnosuke with a blushing face. The half-Youkai looking like he wants to be somewhere else. They both turn to me with shock in their eyes. All I can do is give them a wonderful smile. Marisa immediately gets up and smooths out her skirt. Rinnosuke stands up and shoots me a baleful glare wanting me to not make any comments.

He should know by now that I have no control over my mouth. "If a halfling sexes up a human, what comes out of it?" I question the both of them. Both of their faces turn red with indignation.

"You know that was an accident!" Rinnosuke yells at me with embarrassment. I turn to him with annoyance filling my entire mood right now.

"Oh, do I? Sorry, I just woke up from a loud noise and walked over here to see that sight. What else could I assume, but not the confession of a girl…actually what even happened?" I immediately stop the running joke and look at the large amount of stuff in the store.

"Marisa dumped a bunch of stuff and she tripped over one of them. It's how you found us like that." He spreads his hand to the side in a helpless matter.

"Hey don't ignore me-ze!" We both turn to the witch. I give her a strange smile promising pain for interrupting my rest and Rinnosuke gives her a neutral look. He pushes up his glasses and asks her one question that has me rolling on the floor.

"How much money do you owe me again…?"

"Kourin you idiot!" She storms out of the store like a neglected wife while I laugh through the pain. He looks at me with feelings of déjà vu. This definitely happened, but I haven't been in this place before.

He lightly kicks me in the stomach. "Stop laughing and help me clean all these antiques up." You call them antiques and I call them garbage. I immediately acquiesce to his demand because I'm an employee. I help him stuff these all in the back.

"We have to figure out how to use these things later." I give him a tired look. "I know, that's why I said later." I give him a thumbs up. "Speak already!" I shake my head back and forth. A book drops out of nowhere. It's the same book from last night.

"By the way…" I immediately start making conversation to keep his mind off of that. There's nothing to talk about though! My mind's coming to a blank. All of a sudden, that ivory-haired girl from last night comes to mind. I snap my fingers while internally praising my memory.

"That's right! Yo, Rinnosuke." He turns from his book to me. "What's a good gift for someone who's helped you out?" He puts his hand over his mouth in a thinking pose. That's right…take his mind off of that damn dictionary.

"There's a lot of things to consider when giving the gift. How close you are with the person, what you're giving the gift for, and the gender of the person." I look at him baffled by his reasoning.

"What does the gender have anything to do with a gift?" He gives me a look that makes me feel like an idiot for even asking that question. Seriously though, why does gender matter when giving a gift? It's just showing appreciation, right?

"Would you give a young girl a football, or a young boy a doll?"

"I mean, if they want it? Still don't get your reasoning at all." He gives a deep sigh and takes a lecturer's position. I immediately focus all of my senses to his teachings. He is the master when it comes to Gensokyo after all.

"Tell me the gender, type of person, and how you met the person. We'll come up with a gift." And so, I tell him my meeting with Mokou. How she's a blunt, but quiet person when there's nothing to talk about.

"I see. You must give her flowers." Are you kidding me? What kind of ass-backwards mental gymnastics on the monkey bar did you make to come to such a wacko conclusion?

"Someone like her seems to not receive gifts that often; ergo, she must receive something from the bottom of your heart. Something that will show your appreciation!" Dude…you're getting a bit into this.

"It's just a gift though…" I murmur to myself. But he heard me with his stupid Youkai super senses. His nostrils flare at my words and his eyes shine with an unholy glow.

"Just a gift? Just a gift?! JUST A GIFT?! Do you know what happened when I tried to gift a woman in this world something wrong?" I really don't wanna know. The logic of Gensokyo is too much for a simple human such as myself. "She ran me through with a knife!" What the fuck?! Wait, hold the phone there! That knife must be really sharp to pierce through even a half-Youkai.

"Why?" That's all I can ask. There's really nothing else to question there. Just what kind of gift would make a woman want to kill you? Girls here are scary…

"Something about giving another girl a gift." He says with hidden trauma. My sympathy turns into scorn. I feel bad for even feeling bad about this guy. Stringing along girls like that. Then my scorn turns back into sympathy. I finally realize the problem here.

He didn't even understand that she was crushing on him. Even worse was that he triggered a yandere flag. I put my hand on his shoulder and look into his eyes with understanding. I think our social link just increased there.

"I understand. I'll give her flowers. Let's just get some random stuff and give it to her together." He cuts me off there.

"You must give it to her yourself." He seems to be putting his mouth over his lips. "Do you know about the language of flowers?" I shake my head as a negative."

"Give her a thornless rose then." I look at him, I mean I really _look _at him with a strange face. "What?"

"You actually think I'm that stupid to give some random girl a rose. Are you really that committed to screwing with me?" He immediately does a dogeza.

"I'm sorry it was a joke. The actual flowers you should get are azaleas, gloxinias, and petunias." He stands up and tells me. I look at him confused.

"Just where am I going to get those?" He immediately hands me a bouquet of flowers. The hell? "Why do you even have these laying around?!" He pushes his glasses up with a serious look in his eyes. He's biting his lips in resignation.

"It was for a gift to someone, but you can have it. I have a lot of them to spare. Now go my student, and show your appreciation to your savior!" I leave store with a smile on my face.

"Thanks, Rinnosuke! I'll see you in a bit." I stop before leaving the store with a suspicious look on my face. "Hey, what are the meaning of these flowers?" Rinnosuke answers without a change in expression on his face.

"They mean gratitude and friendship." He nods his head and I leave the shop.

"I'll be out for a bit."

* * *

**Third Person POV**

"Last time you said that, you came back looking like you've been through a war." He lets out a sigh.

Rinnosuke can no longer hold back his laughter as he breaks down entirely. He laughs all his tears and snot away. If someone were to come in now, they would be surprised by sight of the stoic shopkeeper completely breaking composure like that. He wasn't biting his lips in resignation. He was using the pain to keep away the laughter.

"I-I can't believe he actually bought that!" The meaning of those flowers is completely different from what he said. "I hope the girl knows what it means. It would be totally worth it. It's what he deserves though. Worrying me like that." He tries to rationalize his joke while cleaning his glasses.

Azaleas mean for the one giving to hope that the receiver takes care of themselves. This is okay on its own, but the combo of the other flowers gives it a change in meaning. Gloxinias mean love at first sight and petunias mean that the receiver has a soothing presence.

Rinnosuke snorts to himself as he recalls the meaning of those flowers. "Sorry not sorry." He planned this when he talked about owing someone last night. He assumed the person was female because of the absolute state of this land of fantasy. The payoff will be fantastic. The only thing he regrets is not being able to see the show in person.

He reads with an uplifted mood. "When he returns we can read the _History and the Secrets of Women _together!"

* * *

**Wil POV**

A shiver just went down my spine and I don't like it at all. Well, at least I'm back at the Human Village…and what the hell is going on? Everyone is in a festive mood for some reason. I call out to one of the people standing around. What surprised me is how late I slept out.

It's a new moon tonight, but everyone is having a lot of fun and looking drunk and merry.

"Yo, what's the mood today?" He turns to me and looks at my clothes in confusion. Forgot about the difference between Outsiders and humans born here for a second.

"New Year's Festival!" He says with a goofy grin on his face. He goes off in doing some preparations and celebrating on the side. A festival always puts people in a good mood. People who don't enjoy festivals are not normal. But still...

Did I really lose track of days that quickly? Back home it was April, then I arrived here in December. Now it's the first of January already? That's no good at all, I need to hurry up and return back soon.

I walk around with a depressed mood. I see Mokou manning a stand. I would recognize those clothes anywhere. There's some weird looking person. Is that a pagoda hat? That's amazing fashion right there. Also, Aya's there for some reason.

I join them out of curiosity. The first one to notice me is Aya. She looks at all the bandages around my body and I can just see the moment a pen and notepad materialized in her hands.

"Ayaya, It's the angel! What happened to you?" Pagoda hat warily looks at me. I let out a sigh of annoyance. I reach for the notepad, which Aya just keeps out of my hands to mess with me.

"I'm not an angel. I'm just an Outsider who got caught up in a mess. Also, what happened to me was a bitchy and vicious Youkai attacking me." Pagoda hat doesn't like the use of my language. Aya writes down whatever I told her and probably distorts the truth somehow.

"What's with the bouquet in your hand?! Giving it to a lover?" Why me.

"No, not at all. I owe someone, so I'm giving it as a symbol of gratitude. Rinnosuke told me this was the best way to thank her." Ms. Pagoda looks at the flowers and back to me with a weird look in her eye, but she doesn't say anything.

"Alright, so you fought a Youkai, fell in love with her, and want to give her a bouquet as a symbol of your love! This'll be a scoop!" She flaps her wings and flies off at extreme speed to who knows where.

Am I a joke to her?

"Well, I know Mokou, but who are you?" I turn to the one I've been referring to as Pagoda in my head.

"Excuse my manners, I am Kamishirasawa Keine. How do you know Mokou?" She bows to me and questions me. That surname is bullshit. I'm not even going to touch what seems like someone randomly put together in Scrabble and found out it was a word, so I just nod to her.

"She helped me out of a tricky situation. Was about to get ganked by Youkai in a bamboo forest and she saved my ass." Definitely doesn't like my foul language. I turn to the girl manning the stand.

"It's good to see you Mokou. I still haven't really thanked you for leading me out properly, so here." I give her the flowers. Belatedly, I realize that my brain wasn't working properly when I did this. She just stares at the bouquet for a good minute before looking back up to me.

"What's wrong?" Does she not like them or something? I did tell Rinnosuke that I could have given her something else. Keine was the one who answered me with a question.

"Do you know what the meaning of these flowers are?" Rinnosuke you set me the fuck up you dirty bastard!

"It means gratitude and friendship, right?" I try to hold on to hope that Rinny didn't set me up like a douche. I hope it doesn't mean something like hatred if it was wrong though.

"It basically means love." I nod to myself and pull the flowers back, but Mokou actually takes them much to my surprise.

"Don't get the wrong idea. You meant gratitude and friendship, so I'll take your gratitude and friendship." I let out a sigh in relief.

"Honestly, thank you. There're still two things I must do, so I can't afford to die yet. Those flowers are my heartfelt gratitude towards you. If you need anything, stop by Kourindou. We also offer some nice services." Might as well advertise the store for Rinnosuke while I'm here cause he won't do it at all. What a lazy guy.

"I'm sorry." I turned to Keine. "I initially thought you were a sketchy person based on your attire. Outsiders are either crazy and cause problems, or they blend in nicely. I didn't know which one you were."

"No problem. I don't plan to stay in Gensokyo actually. Just looking for a way back home to paradise. I'll be wandering around the Human Village sometimes and Kourindou the other times, so holler at me if you need something."

"Here." I turn to see Mokou handing me a bag. "It's Yakitori. Your stomach was grumbling." That's grilled chicken, right? I gingerly take it. She's giving it for free...no take backs!

"You're a really good person! Well, see you around." I smile at them, create my wings much to their surprise and take flight. That's probably going to make them think I might be an angel. How am I going to clear this misconception? Well that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is a tricky friend! Hehehe, Rinnosuke you clever dog. I'm coming for that ass!

* * *

I slam open the door much to his surprise. His glasses nearly fall over in shock. He realizes why I've come back when he sees the lack of a bouquet in my hands and he starts chuckling.

"It was a pretty good joke wasn't it." I stomp towards him with a grin on my face. He doesn't like the grin.

"Yeah, it was a pretty good joke, but I have an even better one. So, tell me why." He looks at me in confusion when I place the bag down on the counter. "Tell me why!"

I charge at him with a wild haymaker to the face before he even realized my course of action. I knock the glasses off of his face. "Do you feel better now?" He stares at me with annoyance. I kiss my fist with glee.

"Yeah I feel good. Now put your grasses on and nothing will be wrong." I really want to get a band and play that trashy song, but that's for another day when I get back home. Rinnosuke puts his grasses on.

"Grasses? Don't you mean glasses?"

"I know what I said." Let me keep my memes. They are all that I have left from my world, and my clothes too.

"Whatever." He straightens his glasses and goes over to my bag to open it up. He takes a whiff of the delicious smell.

"You brought home Yakitori? With what money?" Hold the phone, I just realized he wasn't paying me. And judging by the way his face is paling, he realized the same. "W-well let's just enjoy the food and the fireworks." He exits the door with my food and walks outside. I follow him out of hunger and we see the nighttime fireworks.

"This is pretty nice. Gensokyo is a wonderful place." Rinnosuke says while chewing on my food. Yeah…it's just not for me. I'm sure this place is good and at all, but…

"Give me back my food!" I snatch the bag and devour all of the food while choking on it. Shit! I manage to swallow it all down without coughing, but now I have to deal with Rinnosuke laughing at me. "It was my food in the first place." I pout at him.

"Fuck, and my sleep schedule is all screwed up." If I sleep too late, then I screw up my internal clock for a while. I'll go to bed late and wake up late, and it's too hard to fix sometimes. I take one more skewer and properly savor it this time.

This yakitori tastes pretty good.


	6. Breakthrough

Chapter 7

It's been three months since the New Year's Festival and I've hit a snag when it comes to my research. I'm trying to find a way home, but I have no idea how to access the barriers that will lead me home. I would be trying to research more, but I'm bedridden right now.

Fucking Yuuka.

I immediately begin healing my body with Dark Matter. Don't know how it works, but it does. I really need to understand this ability more, but I've been putting it off with researching a way back home.

"Rinnosuke." I call out to my employer who doesn't pay me. Isn't that indentured servitude? I'm gonna sue for that.

"What?" He says with dread. It's not like I was that bad over these past months. Though…thinking about being here for multiple months makes me a little annoyed. I think I can just return to the point at which I was taken though, so time is meaningless.

I want to get back as soon as possible. "How do you think Yuuka would react if I just burned down her entire garden?" Rinnosuke didn't move. He just vanished and hands gripped my shoulders fiercely. I stared into frightened eyes boring into mine.

"Don't." He says that one word which conveys a thousand. Yeah, that was probably a ridiculous thought. Even if she's the person I hate the most in the world, it doesn't mean that I will destroy her home. My problem with her lies solely with her and nothing else.

"Fine." I nod to show him I understand. The tension seeps off his shoulders as she slouches back to behind the counter. He picks up and reads the comic book when no one else is around except for me. Still, I've hit a snag in my research. What should I do...?

"Maybe you should take a break?" Rinnosuke offers. He might be right. At this rate, I'll burn out. I've been doing nothing but nonstop research. Yeah, I think I'll take him up on that offer. Only for a day though.

I've healed my body as much as possible, so I should be well enough.

"I'm heading out buddy. I've been working too hard." Rinny waves me off. I guess I'm in the clear to scour across Gensokyo. It'd be boring to fly alone though, so I'll recruit someone. Who would be the best choice…? I know!

Cirno would be the perfect choice, but I need my disguise. I go into the house instead of the store and scrounge up those forgotten tools. The voice changer. I'll make another cloak. Which one was the JoJo dial again…? Here it is. We'll fly together and have some fun in Gensokyo!

This land of illusions is really nice. It's much better than my old world. **It's not. **Sometimes there's a part of me that wonders if I should just stay here and give up on trying to return. **I won't. **I actually have a living friend here. People are also pretty nice here around the village as well. **I refuse. I reject. **

To stay here…or to go back. **_I reject this world!_**

I slap both of my cheeks. "That was really fucking weird." I say with bemusement. Let's not get into that abnormal mindset again. This is exactly why I need a damn break! My frustration will eventually hit its peak, and I'll blow up Kourindou out of irritation.

Then Rinnosuke will unlock his Super Saiyan powers with that katana he never uses and slice me with Japanese steel folded over a thousand times. It's gotta be a quickdraw move for maximum Japan. Why am I going on tangents like these again?

I put a smile on my face as I fly to that misty lake. Cirno is playing there with her friend as always. I greet her with as much ham as I can put in this voice. "Cirno, the strongest one!" She turns to me with recognition in her eyes. She beats her chest with pride as I name her that.

The other fairy, Daiyousei, looks at me with a little annoyance. Understandable, because most of my shenanigans always ended up getting Cirno popped like a balloon. The second time when we returned to that mansion. I found out the name of it, but oh boy was there so much regret. I nearly got turned into a pincushion.

Cirno actually did.

"That's me! Whaddya want?" She always has that goofy smile on her. Like an innocent child that knows not the horrors of the world. I wonder if there was a time when I was like that. As far as I can remember, there was no innocence left in me. Just a damaged person trudging along through reality.

"You wanna go on another adventure?" I bribe her with the unknown. Someone with a childish mindset like her would enjoy anything new and fun. I think the destination this time will be Youkai Mountain. There's still more to explore in that area. For example, the Tengus and that spooky toad.

"Of course! Let's go already!" She drags me by my arm somewhere while ignoring the cries of her friend. Daiyousei looks like she's going to stab me in my sleep. You know, one of those yandere characters that go, "_you took my senpai away, now die!" _That's the kind of crazy I don't wanna deal with. Cirno looks like the kouhai though.

Probably why I should work harder on finding a way home?

"Ease up on the grip my student!" Over these past three months I've grown a little closer to Cirno than I would've expected. So much so, that she has become my student. I am teaching her the ways of getting stronger and truly making her the strongest. It has come with…varying success.

I still need to teach her the secret technique though… "Hey Cirno." She stops and looks at me with anticipation. "We're going to Youkai Mountain for our training!" I give her a thumbs up and a grin. The typical Nice Guy™ pose.

"Yeah!" She raises both her arms in excitement. In her moment of distraction, I pick her up by the scuff of her neck and fly off with speeds that she can't match. I don't know whether that screaming is from shock, fear, or excitement, but this is the fastest way to get there. On our way there, I had a sudden thought for my revenge against the toad.

"Hey Cirno, did you know that freezing toads helps you gain control over your powers?" He tried to vore me, so our enmity is irreconcilable.

"Really?!" Eagerness for getting even stronger than you already are? She's kind of weird like that. She says she's the strongest, but the way she trains makes it seem like she knows she isn't. But she keeps saying she is? I don't get it. I'll treat it like King Crimson and say her mindset just works.

"Yeah, there's a strong boss toad that rules over all the training dummies for you. Once you conquer him, then you will be ready to face me at my strongest!" I clench my fist and dramatically look into the sky with a single manly tear dripping off the corner of my eye.

Shit, I got too caught up in my own hype and passion that even I felt emotional. I'm being serious though. I will face her at my strongest and throw a bunch of shit at her. I'll use the strongest ice I have, the ones I've never used and see what will stick.

"Yes, master!" Her eyes are shining with a determination similar to mine at getting home. I have full faith in her that she will carry out my reve—I mean continue to train and get stronger. I send her off with the pride of an Asian parent when their child scored all one hundred in their classes. Now…might as well greet the locals.

* * *

**-Youkai Mountain-**

"Who are you...no don't tell me! Were you sent by the organization?!"

How did I get in this situation? No really, I don't even understand what happened. "Hey, human! What are you doing in our territory?!" Some random birdman just went up to me and questioned me harshly. I look at him with a little annoyance.

So, I saw a toad that I accidentally stepped on. It made an eldritch squeal, vanished from this plane of existence, and the ground turned into quicklime. After that I tripped on a random branch into a pond, ran into that stupid giant toad again who nearly vored me. This time I wasn't having it and I nearly blasted him into the horizon, but I missed and shot down a squadron of some flying Youkai.

I instantly dipped from the location into another place of the mountain and I ran into this goof here. He was taking a leak, then he turned to me swinging his dong and piss droplets over to my location. He instantly pulled his pants up and stares at me as if I was in the wrong.

To be honest, if that yellow liquid touched me, I probably would have beaten him up.

"Am I not allowed to be here or something?" Much to my surprise he nods his head as if he's assured about everything in the universe. Not even embarrassed at being caught like that... I'm truly impressed.

"Exactly! This mountain belongs to the Tengu, the greatest Youkai in Gensokyo. Our speed, power, and wit are unmatched in this realm! Go on, name a Youkai that even comes close to our power or dare I say it, surpass us?" This…arrogance even has me astounded.

"Yuuka." I say that name that confuses him.

"What are you blabbering on abo—" "Yakumo, Hakurei, Kirisame." I list the names of people who I'm sure that can stomp this dumbass into the ground like a signpost. I tap my finger as I count those powerful individuals. "These are people who can step on you like a Goomba. Don't even get that arrogant when you can't back it up, you dumbass!" His face is turning an interesting shade of red.

"They don't count! I mean, two of them aren't even Youkai and the other two can't even be considered Youkai. They're monsters!" I thought this would end up in a fight, but surprisingly we're debating about what counts as a Youkai.

"Well you're not wrong, but aren't Youkai monsters in general?" At this he takes on an explanatory pose. He raises on finger with a smile on his face.

"Ah, but you're a bit wrong on this. It's okay because you're a human, but we Youkai have categories for each other. There're the run-of-the-mill weak Youkai, the average ones, the stronger ones, the really strong ones, the ones at the peak of power, actual demons, then the monsters."

Hmmm…that's kind of interesting. Although, that does sound like something he literally just made up on his own.

"We Tengus are at the peak of power! There are even some speed demons in our group, but they are very few." This guy…isn't actually so bad actually. We could use an arrogant dude that provokes everyone around us. Maybe he can join Rinnosuke and I on our escapades and bizarre adventures. Wait that's copyrighted, so we have to call them outlandish journeys.

"Hey, what's your name?" I say with an interested tone of voice. I'm going to keep this guy in mind. Maybe he can be that one repeat guest character that you have in an RPG. They're either useless or overpowered though. He has to be the optional character then.

"Listen good and listen well to my great name. I am the man who will sink this world into chaos and rise above its ashes. I will destroy the ruling order of this world! I am Hououin Kyouma!" I…can't.

I burst out into laughter at this greatness before me. This force of personality has to join us now. There's no way I'll let him escape from our crazy ideas. Rinnosuke will be so annoyed by him, it won't even be funny. The best part was that he even posed at the end. It's too perfect. Can we make our own Stardust Crusaders, or Duwang Gang?

Before long, I'll be saying stuff like, "I Wil, have a dream" every five seconds. I hope he can summon a menacing aura though.

"Kyouma…you're great. Out of all the Tengu I've met…" Which has only been one other. "You're the best!" You definitely get a trademarked thumbs up from me.

"Wahahaha! But of course! I can only be the best Tengu! It's been good meeting you. I will tell everyone about this new human comrade of mine!" He immediately runs off. This has been a nice day today. I met a nice guy who's going back to his village of extremely territorial fellows to tell them about a human who's wandered onto their lands.

"Heh." I let loose a little laughter of despair and prepare to book it. Luckily, I ran into Cirno, unluckily she decides to charge at me saying things like, "I defeated the master toad!" She probably did and wants me to fight her. Not a liar, so I'm gonna fulfill her wishes. Gotta wrap this up quick though.

"Alright Cirno! Let's use our strongest moves together!"

"Yay!" Even though a horde of Tengu will probably gank us, I'm feeling pretty good still. I really need a day off I guess.

**"****Freeze Sign "Perfect Freeze""**

A large amount of multicolored balls come rocketing all around me. Their pattern isn't that difficult, but then she freezes them in place and launches more danmaku, covering up the blind spots quite well. If you're going to be tricky like that then…

I create a gigantic glacier from nothing and launch it straight at her. She dodges it. "Hahaha, something like that is too slow for the strongest!" I prepare to launch another one, but the large chunk of ice exploded into raw flames and the fires jumped onto trees. At this moment a bunch of Tengu started coming out of said trees with smoke coming off of their heads.

What the fuck just happened?

Their eyes turn red with fury as they say one thing in unison.

"My luscious locks!" The fires begin spreading and burning down the mountain. There's only one thing to say from a shitty moment like this. Although, can I really be blamed? I had no idea that would even happen. Why did that even happen in the first place. I know Dark Matter screws the world's laws in the ass, but why did a piece of ice turn into a firebomb?! I didn't even create that function for it!

"Just my luck! Cirno I'm going to teach you the secret technique." She gravely looks at me as I bestow her this piece of ancient knowledge. The smoking Tengus follow the law of 'Talking is a Free Action,' so I'm free to abuse this.

"It involves using our legs." She nods her head rapidly as the Tengu prepare for a powerful technique from us. I let loose a smirk as I speak the holy words.

"Let's hotfoot it out of here, Cirno!" She nearly topples over in surprise as I leave everyone in the dust. Thankfully, she flies after me. The Tengu were completely shocked by my actions, that they didn't even move for a minute.

"GET THAT BASTARD!" I'm the biggest bastard every and I love it.

We eventually escape the angry Tengus with bloodshot eyes. Cirno still has a cheerful smile on her face. Can nothing get her down? "Master, that was great! Let's play some more!" I give her an exhausted smile as I see the burning mountain in the distance. A familiar goddess appears before us.

"I see your bad luck has returned with the same intensity…" She peers at me extremely oddly. That look in her eyes feels like violation. Even if I cover my body, it won't stop the way she's looking at me.

"Can you not rape me with your eyes?" I deadpan at her. She blushes in shame at being called out in the way she was staring at me. I'm not a piece of meat…well technically I am, but I refuse to be food! Wait…what was her name again? I only met her once, so I can't be blamed for forgetting her name, can I?

"I'm sorry that I can't take your bad luck away, but there's probably a way to remove it in Gensokyo. Don't give up hope!" She says that and flies off. Don't give up hope…

Sorry but even if there was a way to keep my bad luck, I still wouldn't do it. That's a part of me. This misfortune of me is what makes me Wil. If I even take a part of me away, I'd no longer be me, just a shell of what I am right now.

"Cirno, there's something I have to do. It's time for us to split here, but I trust you will keep up in your training." She nods very seriously. Time to give her some encouragement. "Who knows, you may be able to take down red-white sooner or later…" I trail off at the end because Cirno immediately flew off before listening to me. This is what I get for accepting a childish disciple like her.

Time to go visit Mokou though. I owe her some money from that yakitori she gave me. She actually didn't intent to give it to me for free. Stingy... She and Rinnosuke would make a good couple.

Luckily…I shouldn't be saying that. From a series of coincidences followed by massive amounts of bad luck, I've stumbled across some money. I pawned some stuff off to Rinnosuke and he gave me money for it. He definitely cheated me out of some money though. Cheeky dude knows that I don't know the exact exchange rate.

* * *

**-Bamboo Forest of the Lost-**

Every time I went to go bother her she kept holding her hand out for money when she wasn't regenerating from her wounds. Now wasn't that a kicker…finding out she was immortal. I touch down the moment I see one of the Youkai who ganked me after I was sent flying here three months ago.

I never forget a grudge. I jump on top of him.

"Hey buddy, you remember me?" I say with a menacing smile. He looks up at my angelic face and turns pale. I think he remembers me. Hmm…what should I do? He's a dog Youkai, so I guess I can do this.

I make a bone. "Come on and fetch!" I throw it away from me all the way into the middle of bamboo. He's eager to chase after it and get away from me at the same time. I wait for a while and hear an explosion. "That feels really good." I feel really Zen right now from that. I rigged that bone to explode once the doggy bit down on it. I hear footsteps and turn towards it.

"Ah, there you are Mokou." I wave over to her. It seems she noticed the explosions and came running over here. Her serious gaze was roving over everything until she caught my face and got annoyed immediately. Why does everyone get that expression when they see me smiling?

The only one who doesn't get annoyed at me is Yuuka, and that's only because she's too busy trying to kill me. Anger overrides irritation I guess. Though I don't think I actually smile at her. At least not a good one.

Before she opens her mouth or even holds her hand out like the greedy person she is, I throw coins worth eight hundred yen at her. She catches it easily.

"Finally." She says that with relief as I decided to pay her back today. Now she looks a lot less annoyed at me. "Now, what happened here this time?" Why do you always have to assume that something happens when I arrive?

"I gave a dog a bone. It exploded from joy. Literally." Well it's not a lie, and I'm technically not wrong. Is that the sound of her teeth grinding?

"Stop being so roundabout and answer clearly!" Roundabout? To be continued.

"I found a familiar person and got my revenge on him. He's alive because I gotta follow the spell card rules. There is a person I want to break those rules on though. She's a gear grinder for me." She thinks to herself.

"Was that why you asked me about people I hate?" Yeesh, she remembers that? I thought immortals were supposed to have really shitty memories because of how old they are. Wait, actually how old is this person in front of me? As I wonder that I answer her with glazed eyes.

"Yup. Yuuka's a bitch." Her eyes widen at that, and then I realized that I named the object of my hate. Well, it's not like I was trying to keep it hidden and she could know ways to beat her.

"Why do you want to kill her of all people?" Well at least she isn't trying to stop me from doing it. "Hate at first sight…. Never thought I'd experience it in my life because life is what seems to hate me the most." Holy shit that came out way edgier than I wanted it to.

"What a coincidence, I feel the same way." She says with a sardonic grin. Damn, I really feel that. Just the pain of life kicking you when you're down because you're naturally unlucky, but you don't hold grudges to those who screw you over... Maybe I should stop thinking about this.

"By the way, can you lead me out again? I literally can't get out of this forest and you know it." She does. Because of how often I come here, she eventually just showed me the directions to the way out and even gave me a map. Except that every time I tried to get out, I've wandered into multiple things, like Youkai orgies, someone plotting to take over the world, and even Mokou's house.

She got so annoyed that I think she developed a sensor for when I arrived here so that she could instantly take me out. Her motives are clear for that. She wants me out before my misfortune starts to cause more chaos in this already crazy forest.

She leads me out and leaves without saying anything. Now…where should I go next. This is a single day of relaxation, so no going to that damn garden. Guess I'll go to the Human Village.

* * *

**-Human Village-**

"Eh? You're by yourself?!" Why are you saying that Kirisame? Well to be fair, she only ever saw me in the company of Rinnosuke. The only time she has seen me by myself was on the New Year's Festival.

"Yup. I'm here for a break from research." Her eyes glimmer at this.

"What kind of research?! I'm always studying to get stronger myself! What kinda magic do you use-ze?!" Oh no, I've triggered the magician side of her. She's too intense like this, not that I dislike intense people, but I want a break from all of this. I let he one-sidedly try to pester me on my way to the market.

We stumble across a strange fortune teller. Kirisame apparently detected the scent of magic from him, so she dragged me along with her.

"Hey, fortune teller! Whatcha using your magic for?" Her curiosity allowed her to break the ice with this random dude. He looks to be completely average with brown hair darker than my own. His eyes are pretty sharp and shifty though.

"My specialty is divination. I can read your fortunes with these tarot cards here." Kirisame thinks to herself audibly for a moment then turns to me with a grin. She pulls me over and sits me right in front of the fortune teller. He gives a gentle smile at me.

"You do it! I don't need my future being told-ze."

"I see...so the fortune telling will be for this young man here. I will oblige you then." He shuffles up the cards with actual magic. There's a dark yellow glow around the cards as they mix and match themselves. "Well, pull two cards."

"Ah...you've pulled the reversed hanged man and the upright death." I have some knowledge of tarot card readings, but I don't know how this applies to me.

"You are hesitating with a great decision in your life. You keep stalling, but the decision will eventually catch up to you and force you to make a change. First reading is free of charge. I implore you to come back and I wish the both of you good luck." We leave as he sends us off with a smile on his face.

Indecision and change huh... I think it's time for me to get back. Kirisame and I prepare to leave the market but...

"Why…? Why the hell are you here? Just give me a break already." This a day of break, so why is Yuuka here?! She looks to be in an extremely bad mood today, but the moment she hears those words slip out of my mouth her gaze turns increasingly rotten. She looks like she's about to lose it from staring at me. I think Kirisame has an inkling about the bad blood between the two of us as indicated by her running off.

"Why? I should be asking you that!" Oh damn, she's not one to yell. Something must've really gotten to her.

"The hell are you talking about woman?" Even the villagers are giving us a wide berth. Some of them are aware of our confrontations, but we limit it to outside of the village. I do it to protect the people, but I think Yuuka does it because she doesn't want to be bothered by all the annoyance it would bring down on her.

"My garden…my house…you burned it down…" She whispers. I nearly missed it, but then her hair starts flying in rage as she glares at me with blazing eyes. Hold the phone! Who the hell was ballsy enough to even think of doing such a thing?!

"It wasn't me though! I don't even know what you were talking about. I was actually wanting to stay away from you today!" She got even madder from me saying that! She looks like she's about to erupt in the middle of the village and I can't have that at all. I motion them to back up even further.

Whoever burned down her house and garden, you get a thumbs up from me. You also get a punch because I'm getting wrongly accused for it. This is why I can't have nice things. My luck likes to screw me over even when something good happens.

"Don't lie. Who else would do it?" Her eyes turned from a red hot to a chilling green. Those dead eyes staring through my soul as she asks me that question. That is true though…who else would do it. Who's sneaky enough and has a large grudge against her that they would do it? I'm literally the only person I could think of. Am I a sleepwalker?

"You sure you just don't suck at cooking and you burned it all down? It sounds like you just want to blame me for something you have no proof for." I'm actually quite pissed off by this. If you want an excuse to fight me at least find a better one.

"Don't get carried away monster." I tonelessly say to her.

She then begins to descend into chuckles. I create six shimmering white wings and fly off to the Hakurei Shrine. I'm definitely fucking off from where an extremely strong person starts randomly breaking out into giggles. That sounds like one step away from a mental break that I don't want to be around.

"I won't let you get away!" I instantly increase in speed as I hear a howl behind me. I really don't want to deal with you today! If I stayed behind in that village, she probably would've destroyed it. I touch down at the shrine where I see Kirisame and Hakurei talking. They see me standing right next to them with a grin on my face. I pat both of their shoulders and tag them in.

"Hey guys! Want to do a spell card battle?" The shrine maiden just looks at me confused, but I think that the magician knows exactly why I'm saying that. A wave of sheer _pissed off fury _washes over all of us. I give them a nice grin as I turn around and face the monster. They're probably wondering why I brought this typhoon over here.

"You mad?" Why did I say that you might ask? Because I could.

A swing of her parasol displaced the air and nearly displaced my head of my shoulders. I barely even saw it coming before I ducked. While I'm close to her body I send a charged shot right at her gut. I knocked her all the way down the stairs, but she's probably coming up even angrier than ever soon.

"I've never seen her act like this…" Reimu trails off looking towards me for an answer. All I can do is shrug my shoulders.

"She's mad because someone burned down her house and garden. She thinks I did it and won't listen to reason. Help me bring her down please?" I ask the two of them. Kirisame looks to be interested and Hakurei looks extremely annoyed. I would be too if there was a danger to my home right in front of me and oh my god!

I attempt to back up, but Yuuka grabs me by the face and throws me off the entire shrine. I'm falling into a sea of trees, but I manage to right myself with flight. The shrine maiden and magician started to help me out by throwing their respective danmaku. They don't seem to be using spell cards though. Guess they don't want to get that involved in something they didn't even do.

Yuuka just summoned a mass of roots from the bottom of the trees and absolutely wrapped the two in them. So, it's temporarily up to me now. She completely cut us off from them.

God damnit! When I get my hands on Yuuka…I'm going to strangle her. "Hey bitch!" I call out to her. She turns to me and ignores the other two throwing shit at her branches. The chain I created latches on her wrist. I pull hard and drag her down to me. She didn't expect it, which is why she got completely clotheslined.

"That's enough." I mount her and look deep into her eyes. I wrap my hands around her neck and squeeze tightly. "I'm going to kill you this time. It's my win." A grin puts itself on my face as I begin squeezing harder. Her face is eerily blank while I'm doing this. All of a sudden, I feel something tear through the left side of my chest. A warm red liquid spews out of the wound.

I cough up blood right on her face as my grip on her neck gets weaker. She licks the blood right off her face like some demented psychopath. That was tasteless as hell.

The large tentacle branch goes deeper through the hole and wraps around my body. It pulls me off of her and throws me away like garbage.

"That's revenge for burning down everything. That's also revenge for existing, so please die and make me happy." A smile. An utterly emotionless smile that's wiped away from a gigantic laser of pure fuck off energy blasting into her. She was completely blindsided by it.

"Heh. That makes me feel a lot better." This wound would be fatal if I was a normal person. Who would've thought that being born with the heart on the right side would save me here? **I really hate this world. **I still have something I want to do though.

"Hey you two, stand back for a second. This is my fight, and I don't feel like having anyone interfere in it!" I yell out to the two that're kicking the shit out of the monstrous bitch. Those two are strong as hell. And it seems they aren't listening to me.

**"****Foreign Sign "Invisible Demon.""**

A wave of something washes over everything. All the danmaku flying around are destroyed and my target for the spell card got slapped to the ground. I used this once to test it, and I found out it pretty much breaks the rules. A cheating card, that gives me a shitty backlash that's hitting me right now!

"That's what you get for falsely accusing me…!" I say that through the bloody coughs. This isn't from my injury, but from the spell card I just used. This one and the Crisis Sign gives me a backlash for some reason. I still haven't found out why…

I walk up to the three. Reimu and Marisa are making sure that Yuuka doesn't do anything drastic. It looks like she's stopped her rampage though.

"Why did you do that!" Reimu interrogates Yuuka harshly. She doesn't say anything and looks straight at me.

"Oh, come on! I didn't destroy your stupid garden. If it was me, I wouldn't have stopped at burning it down, I would have taunted you as well!" She actually seems to consider it. Just how low is her opinion of me?

"Wait…isn't this both of your faults?" Reimu directs that to both of us. I'm confused. "If you two didn't have such a hatred for each other, then this mess wouldn't have happened. You two need to get over yourselves!" Yuuka and I look at each other and we come to a silent agreement to never get along. Unfortunately, Marisa rats us out.

"Hey Reimu, they're not gettin' along ever. I reckon it was Wil who started this conflict anyway. Kourin told me he instigated everything." Reimu lasers in on me for nearly getting her shrine destroyed. It's not like anyone donates though. I look at her holding the stick and I decide.

"I'll work a long month for you. Also Yuuka, I'll repair your house for you, so be at your best next time!" She accepts my reparation instantly and Yuuka seems surprised. I fly away back to Kourindou to complain to Rinnosuke.

I also have a smile on my face for hearing the punishment Yuuka's receiving. She's not allowed to visit the Human Village for a year.

* * *

Month of hell is over! I can finally devote my time to returning back home fully again. I wanted to take a break, but my bad luck said no and put me through this shit!

"You know, you can always stay here at the shrine. You've been an…okay assistant." It looks like she struggled to bring out that compliment.

"I got things to do." The moment I turn around to head back to Rinnosuke's place, I walk right into a hole filled with a bunch of eyes and purple darkness. The last thing I hear is Reimu's groans about Yukari. Ah, so Yakumo kidnapped me. Wonderful.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" I see the person in question with an uncharacteristically serious countenance. Using big words helps me think better. I shake my head while trying to piece together her motives. Whelp, I got nothing.

"You've been here for around four months, and many things have happened. You're a force of chaos, and I've seen your research." She pulls out bands of paper that I've used. She doesn't smile or mock my widening eyes in the slightest.

"You research a way home, yet you enjoy being here. You try to find ways to antagonize everyone, yet you try to help them in the end. Even Kazami Yuuka was one you helped." She seems confused by that. I built her burnt down house for her for no reason. Still don't know why I did that. She got mad at me when she saw what I did though. At least she didn't kill me.

Just merely sent me flying across Gensokyo again.

"Wil…what do you seek." Isn't that obvious? **A way home obviously. **I try to say those words, but nothing comes out of my mouth. Why?!

I collapse on all fours.

"Why did I have to enjoy this place? Why is it so hard to just want to return? It's so easy to like this place, and so hard to hate it. Is it so wrong to want to leave paradise and to return to reality?! I was a normal person with terrible luck, but I was fine with that! I never had illusions of desiring any more than I had, so why was it given to me?!" This damn Gensokyo…this accursed Gensokyo, it's nothing more than an insipid poison!

"Make your choice. Stay or leave. It's simple." There're no fans covering her face, no smiles or mocking or anything. No beating around the bush. She just had to confront my greatest pain. There's so much here…so much hopes and dreams. I have a friend, a student, and a lot of fun adventures to go on.

At home, I have nothing but regrets and a dead family. It should be the obvious choice to say I deserve to be in Gensokyo for all the suffering I went through…but I can't say it. I can't decide. I can't choose my future! **I don't want to be here.** I want to be here!** I don't need to be here.**

"I see. If you can't make a decision, then I'll make one for you. You will be staying in Gensokyo. It's the best for you in all honesty." I can tell that Yakumo is a very tricky person, so the fact that she's being honest with me means I should accept it right? **Hell no! **But…I can't abandon my origins like that. There's still something pushing me. There's still a reason why I have to go back home. So, until I make it back there…!

"I refuse." I stand up. "I won't bend to your will." I look at dead in the eyes to convey my wavering determination. I can either swing from leaving to staying, but I chose to leave. She merely lets out a sigh.

"A spell card battle then. If you win, then you're free to do whatever you want; however, if I win, then you must stay in Gensokyo." If I don't accept she'll just keep me here forever.

"Fine. Let's begin."

The moment I say that, an uncountable number of gaps open up around us. My eyes widen before I see Danmaku flying through all of them. As I manage to avoid all of them, the missed shots go through gaps and come flying out of different ones like she's playing Portal!

"No, you don't!" I plug up the gaps with Dark Matter. All she does is open some more. I'm already on the backfoot and she's barely doing anything. Was that a yawn?! I'm not going to stay in Gensokyo, and I refuse to play along with your plans.

"You piece of shit! I'm going to show you why you should never mess with me!" To combat those portals, I spawn even more creations of Dark Matter and hurl it at her. She's forced to evade it…or so I thought. She put a gigantic gap in front of her and opened another one behind me.

Before my own weapons could be used against me I dematerialized them and used the calculations to create a horizontal tornado. Yakumo was sucked into the eye, which I filled with a laser. I take deep breathes to concentrate some more when a hand pats my back. I turn around in surprise to see a fucking train!

"They're not supposed to move that fas—" It slams into me with powerful force. It takes me through one of the gaps and I get submerged in water. The water pressure is starting to take its toll on me, but thankfully the train lost its momentum. I swim all the way up to catch my breath.

"Is that all you have? Wouldn't it be better to choose the easy way out? What do you have to lose from staying here? What do you have to gain from going back?" Nothing to both questions.

But that doesn't matter. **Break through her. **I'm not going to go down without a fight. As a matter of fact, I won't go down without winning. It's a spell card match. I can push my body as far as I want without the threat of death. I create the six white wings and take to the skies above the ocean. A gap engulfs us both and ports us out into the middle of a volcano.

I don't react at all. My wings open up and send streams of lava at her location. Those damn gaps…how am I going to get through them? Maybe I can wear her out? This going to be a long one.

"Hey Yakumo, you ready for a battle of attrition?" Her answer to that was another large gap to take us to a different location.

* * *

_-The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate...  
Entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope.  
Yet, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed...  
Beyond the beaten path lies the absolute end.  
It matters not who you are...Death awaits you.-_

I don't know how long this fight has been, but even my brain is starting to get tired. My calculations are getting sloppy and the amount of Dark Matter I can produce is depleting. She knows it too. I'm already on one knee from exhaustion. I stare up at her defiantly. **Don't give in. **

"Your body and mind is wearing down, but I don't want to break you. I'm going to put an end to this right now." She says without any hint of joking at all. She does some weird motions with her finger and things get weird. I hear a gap open up, but I don't know where it is.

"What/**What?!"**

**What just **happened? There're **two thoughts running **through my head! **At least you can finally hear me properly**. Well this is weird. Maybe we…I can use this to my advantage. **I'll handle the aiming, **and I'll do the creation.

"I opened a gap in your mind. You shouldn't be able to think with parallel thoughts running through your mind. Forfeit your misery and accept a life of paradise." She spreads her arms with a smile as if to invite me to said paradise.

**"****Sorry lady, **but paradise is definitely not here!" She made a big mistake. **I use all of my calculations to aim at her and the gaps. **I create suitable things to plug up the gaps and aim at her. **I cut her off immediately **by barraging her with double the amount of Dark Matter I've been doing before. **Heh. Judging by that face, she definitely knows she made a mistake. **

"What happened…?" **You messed with the wrong guy is what happened lady! **I'm going to get through…

"Wil, do you really want to leave this place that badly?" **Of course, I do! **"There's really no reason for you to do so." I keep throwing Dark Matter at her. Whatever she tries to blitz me with, I can offset. **Whenever she tries to throw gaps at me, I dodge them and plug them up.**

**Vocal percussion on a whole 'nother level coming from my mind~ **

"What's even left for you? Family? Friends? A lover?" There isn't anything left for me. I don't have anything at all. Not even the worthless stuff can be grasped by me. My misfortune causes everything to slip past my hands, but even so, **does that mean it's wrong to go back to that life?! **It might be…

To truly be honest…I don't want to go back. **To be truly honest, I really want to go back.**

"Enough, I'm finishing this immediately." The two parallel thoughts slip back into one. I slump to my knees out of surprise. My brain is trembling…it's thumping extremely hard against my skull. I can't even stand from that. It feels like I'm losing consciousness…but I can't fall yet. Just stay on my knees and get up…!

"It's over. Just stop struggling and listen to someone who wants to help you for a change. Gensokyo was built as a paradise for those who have none. It's made for people like you, so just accept it with happiness." It's because of that. That Is why I can't accept it. If there's something I can truly trust in, it's my luck. There's no such thing as a person that truly wants to help me from the bottom of their heart.

I don't want to go back to the hellish days.

Everything is getting darker.

I don't want to spend my days suffering alone.

Everything falls into nothingness.

I don't want to consumed by my shitty luck anymore…

**"****If it was me, then I wouldn't give up." **A very familiar and young voice enters my ears. I weakly look up to see a childish me. Would I be seven years old then…? And look at my state. Covered in bandages on my arms and head. I always got injured a lot, didn't I?

**"****These injuries were from helping others, not solely from your bad luck. I lost a lot and never gained anything, but did I ever once give up? I never regretted a damn thing. So why are you starting to regret? We're the same after all. That damn shadow causing two mindsets to split like that…stop being such a bitch and stand up already!**

"Heh, so you were the voice whispering those words to me. I actually expected you to look like some inner hollow shit or something. Not talking about kings and horses yet?"

**"No jokes here. Well, at least you can backtalk yourself. Does that show self-hatred though? Doesn't matter, you don't really want a happy end like that, so don't accept it. It's that simple. Just stand up and fight.**

Yeah…that's right. I never really wanted anything, so why am I desiring such a happy end. Something like that can't come so easily. I won't have it. I stand up in the empty darkness with only me and myself. I see him visibly start to age. That…red-hair.

**"****Come on! Let's show this shitty hag what for. Dark Matter was an ability that was just handed to us, but that doesn't mean we can't show her its real power! Let's unite for good and take her down. Stop hesitating. Stop regretting. Stand up and break through her once and for all. I ****_will _****get home no matter what." **

The only one who can help me is myself. The only one who can save me is myself and no one else. I've always been alone and I always will be. It doesn't mean that I hate it. What I'm doing in Gensokyo isn't living at all. I'm going to take back my life and choose my own death!

I take the hand of the grinning other and I come back to myself on my feet against Yakumo. That's the first time I've seen her truly surprised. Yeah…this is me. All of this is me. I point directly at her.

"Yo Yakumo, I'm getting home one way or the other. If I have to get through you to do so, then I will. I'm going to break through you, and take my own life back! There's not a damn thing you can do to stop me! You got that, gap hag? I said I'm going to go through you!"

"I see. There's no more need for words or convincing. I'll do away with all of my manners and force you here by my own hands. I understand your type very well. Stubborn until the very end. It's too bad that I'm the same. Over 1200 years of stubbornness against your 21…"

She closes her eyes for just a second and opens them with a greater intensity than before. Those amber eyes start glowing with power as she pulls out a spell card. This is her first and last spell card. I understand. She wants to end it with the strongest.

"This is the finale **"Profound Danmaku Barrier -Phantasm, Foam and Shadow-"**"

A frankly absurd amount of bullshit comes from around her. It's completely unavoidable, or so it looks. I said the same thing about the Emerald Splash but everything has. This spell card of hers manifests as nothing but boundaries around us, so if I break every single gap…

"Let me show you the real Dark Matter!" My right arm converts into a white substance. It almost feels like I'm going to fade away into the wind, but I hold on tight with my brain. I turn my right arm into something illogical, something that can grasp the gaps. As I move it, it rips through everything around us.

I backhand the air to the side of me and everything fractures me. In this purple darkness, there's a black hole showing a way to my future. This spell card is done. The space of boundaries and gaps have been turned into nothing but a blank darkness. It's basically outer space without any celestial bodies.

"Impossible…!" The time for words is over. Before she can create more gaps in this empty dark space of nothingness, I turn everything into Dark Matter. This whole space is nothing but a white void. Not even she can put boundaries around us anymore. I'm using the remaining amount of my calculation for this. I can't even shoot Danmaku at her.

Even then, she's still not defenseless. This type of person won't give up until the end. Even without gaps, she still can use magic. A person like me wouldn't give up so easily. Even someone like me can notice that.

I'm instantly surrounded by red blades that aim to take me down completely. There is no safe space to dodge, so I create my own.

All the blades fire on me at the same time. I knock one out of its intended path by swinging my right arm towards me and divert it towards another. This creates a chain reaction that knocks them all out of the perfect spot to take me down. This created a safe zone for me to charge through. I'm getting closer!

The next obstacle is a group of explosions going off continuously around me. The only way through is forward. Even explosions have a moment where there is no action. I slip through a space between the explosions with only burnt clothing to show for it. My eyes widen to see her motioning for something.

She can still use them?

A gap opens up in front of me shooting off a bullet with such speeds that it looked like a laser. I curved my body to the side barely avoiding its path as it tears through the flank of my jacket. I still keep running forward even through tripping over myself.

A large wall erupts right in front of me. It keeps climbing higher to deny me my assault against Yakumo. I run up the wall faster than it rises and leap over it. I start free falling all the way down into gaps that she can still put out. I twist my body in mid-air out of its path as more bullets keep charging to me.

One appears right where my body was by opening a gap inside of it. I use the delay to dodge it.

Another one appears right above me, raining an absurd amount of light speed bullets. It was like the countless stars in the light deciding to fall down on me. I didn't look up. I didn't need to look up. I'd trust my terrible luck to keep me alive.

And so, I ran through all of the bullets with scrapes and grazes. I wasn't unharmed, but I'm still conscious enough to move. That's all I need.

I can see her starting to sweat. I can feel the gaps pushing up against the world of Dark Matter. She's struggling to attain control over this world once more. I have to get to her quickly. With a stoic face, I continue to run to her location. Even if she flies away from me, I will eventually catch up to her.

Three gaps open up around me. One on the right, one on the left, and the third one in front of me. They both fire lasers extremely close to me. I don't have the speed necessary to dodge them. So, I use my right arm to divert the trajectory of the front laser into the one at the left. I feel the last beam strike into my side, but I don't let it fully knock me down. It sends me spinning.

I roll right back onto my tired feet and run with burning legs. That glare in her eyes, that sweating of hers…will this unbeatable Youkai with no weaknesses finally start to tire out? I feel a tingling in my spine and duck beneath a large bullet coming from behind me. I've reached her and she knows it.

"Why aren't you tiring out before me?" She seems so lost at this twist ending.

"A great Youkai like yourself doesn't get it? I've always been struggling my entire life. I've struggled more in my 21 years than your 1200! Let me show you why my time is greater than yours!"

She can't get away now. While I'm running at her, I raise my right fist.

"Yukari!" I shout out, confident of my victory. I pull back my right arm and prepare to throw my fist at her. I didn't account for just how stubborn she really is though. Her last stand was a gap formed in her right pupil. A sharp bullet flew out of it shooting right towards me.

I'm unlucky. I know this. I'm destined to lose a lot of things. I'm destined to fail at a lot of things. I've already failed at a lot of things and lost a lot of things. This is fate or destiny. I don't care about denying it. There's no need for me to do so. I'll accept it with a smile like I've always done. No matter how broken and bitter the smile is, I'll put on that mask because that mask is also a real part of me. There is one thing that I'll never fail at though.

It's living a life of misery. I'll accept that and return home back to that life filled with despair. I'll trudge along in live that life because it's mine. That's why I can win. If I fought to live in Gensokyo, I would always lose because it would be a happy outcome for me.

Fighting to live back in my own world will always let me win because the end result is more misery and bad luck. Because of that, I was just fast enough to react.

I'm just a normal human being who wants misery, so…let me live that misery!

I throw my fist with just enough speed to punch through the bullet with Yukari widening her eyes at the impossibility of it all. I grit my teeth and move with my strained body. My fist stops right before it hits her face in this completely white space. I feel her breath against my fist as she backs up and falls on her ass. Of course, she had to make the fall graceful.

"It's my win, Yukari. You can't stop me anymore." I know it. She knows it. I look at Yukari close her eyes and take a deep breath. She stands up as if she wasn't in danger at all with a serene smile on her face. My arm returns to its normal state and falls to the side.

We stay in this silent world for five minutes like that.

"Yes…it's your victory. Take pride in it, for it's the last time you'll achieve one over me." Yeah…last time cause I'm not going to fight you again. We turn away from each other and look into the white sky.

My brain starts to tire out, and that white world returns to that same world of gaps. All the eyes around us staring at me.

"You're free to do whatever you want." She whimsically says. The gap envelops us and deposits us right back to the shrine. It's evening? Damn, we must've been at it for a long time then. Yukari turns back to look at me.

"Congratulations for besting me. I'll even give you a reward for doing so. What would you like? It can be anything within my power." She says with an odd smile on her face. Anything huh… I think I know exactly what I want. I also turn back to meet her gaze with the first grin I've give since I left that boundary hell.

I punch her in the face.

The way she didn't expect the fist driven into her face, the expression on her face when she realized she got hit, everything was just perfect. Before she could even realize what I just did, I flew off on black wings. I'm going back to Rinnosuke's. I've found my resolve to tackle my project with renewed fervor.

Pure catharsis.

I can feel the breakthrough forming. I just need four months give or take. I reach Kourindou relatively quickly. I enter the door, which alerts two people there. Rinnosuke and Marisa turn to me with blank stares.

"Where were you all day? You were supposed to return in the morning." I give him a smile which surprises him. "That facial expression, the aura around you, everything seems…different. You feel complete." That fact that he could even detect such a thing weirds me out, but he isn't wrong.

"No matter." He pushes his glasses up with a smile on his face. "We were planning on having hotpot. Good timing that you finally showed up." Hotpot? Never had it before.

"Well, whatever you make should taste good, so I'll take you up on the impromptu offer. Make sure to fill up my belly good…because I got a lot of things to do tonight. I feel really good right now." My mood is perfect for research.

"Roger." He says with a smile. Marisa seems to be excited at this offer. I guess we'll eat together, like a family.

This is a really dysfunctional family. Marisa keeps stealing from my plate and Rinnosuke is lecturing us about the history of hotpots. No Rinnosuke I don't care about Prince Shotoku eating hotpot on a warm summer day. Marisa if you take my beef one more time, I'll glue your chopsticks together.

Even if I do complain about this dinner…these days will probably last in my memories until the end…my death. I've always considered how I would die. If my misfortune has anything to say about it, it will most likely be a long, drawn-out and torturous death leaving me begging for sweet release. That's why I have to end my life on my own terms. I think I know the best time to do it.

All these thoughts put a smile on my face. These happy memories will keep that smile on my face. I want to die with a smile on my face, just like my dad. I'll follow after him and greet my family. Hopefully they won't make fun of me for my bad luck like they used to.

"Hm? Why're you laughin'-ze?" Marisa seems to be questioning my mental state.

"I'm in a good mood, and I thought of a wonderful moment. Anyways, that's enough dinner for me. I'm going to go work on my research. I probably won't leave the house until I finish it, so you're going to be down an employee. Sorry about that." I shamelessly say that.

"Understood." Rinnosuke responds with a helpless smile. I'm glad that he's so understanding though. This is something that is my dream, my whole life. Everything hinges on this research. I got a lot of inspiration from fighting with Yukari, so things will go perfectly. I guess adversity does bring about the biggest positives.


	7. Bad Luck Charm

**AN: This chapter might be a little darker then the others.**

Chapter 6

**-1 Month Later-**

Judging from the way I woke up, I must've passed out in a weird position. I was and still am researching extensively, so it's no wonder that I would've fallen asleep before I knew it. I'm sprawled out across the futon, legs not even in the blanket. What even happened last night?

"It's two in the afternoon." Rinnosuke should be up and manning his shop. He should know what happened. I get up and walk through the hallway to the store. I open the door and see him look at strangely.

"Hey, what happened last night?" His pace gets pale. Hey…did I do something weird last night? I didn't even drink alcohol or anything though, so why don't I remember falling asleep? And why does my head hurt so much…?

"You don't remember what happened when you took a second trip to the village?" He says a bit hesitantly. Hold on…second trip? Let me try and remember. Let's see, there was me eating some food and going back into my room and that's about it. Wait, I think I'm recalling something.

"Hey Rinnosuke, why do I remember seeing a certain green-haired bitch at the human village...again? Such an awful person hanging around and enjoying herself when she was supposed to be banned from it from one year." He takes a deep breath.

"I don't know anything about banning, but you need to resolve your problems with each other. How about giving her another flower?" I turn a heavy glare towards his direction. He took a step back from the intensity of it. I direct it downward because I know that I should just ignore this hatred festering in me, but I just can't.

"There's no way. The moment I even see her or even think about her, I just want to kill her. She feels the same as I do. Yeah, I remember what happened now." I'm irritated at that incident. Very irritated. We would have broken into another battle if we weren't interrupted.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Rinnosuke let's head back into the village and enjoy ourselves! Marisa left, so we're gonna have some good fun." I grabbed his wrist and flew back to the village. He pulls himself off of me shortly and starts hovering behind me. I'm super tired as all hell with these bags under my eyes. I need to reenergize myself.

"Fine. There're probably some interesting things to do there. Don't cause any trouble though." He says to me like I'm a person who causes chaos wherever he goes. I don't even try to do anything bad, it's just that bad things happen around me. We touch down by the entrance and walk back in while waving to the guards.

All of a sudden, I feel a pulsing from my body. "This feeling…!" This overwhelming anguish and rage coming from my core. It can only be her, but what the hell is she doing here! She's a evil monster who'll kill anyone who even looks at her wrong. I just know it. And why is she here again?! I grit my teeth and begin looking around sharply.

"What are you doing?" Rinnosuke questions me with an odd look on his face. I take off without answering him because I think I finally sensed her out. I run to the center of the festival to where some shops are. By a flower store, I see her looking at me. She's wearing a skirt this time instead of pants. We're just staring at each other.

I see Keine, Marisa, and Reimu also nearby. "Why did you run off like that?" Rinnosuke comes up to me exasperated. He turns to my direction and a shiver goes down his spine. He grabs on to my wrist tightly. "Wil, no!" I shove him off and take heavy steps towards her. She doesn't move from her spot in the slightest, only watching my footsteps.

Keine notices me and waves, but I completely ignore it. The only thing in my sight is this bitch in front of me. "Oh, what's with the bags under your eyes? Are you okay?" She mocks my physical state and tiredness.

Yeah, I'm surprised I'm still awake and functioning right now Haven't slept in three days. At least i reenergized myself from the sight of this...thing in front of me.

"Hmph. What the hell are you doing here, wretch? Here to eat some innocent humans, or do you just want to cause some problems? Actually, why are you even allowed back in the village? Nah, I don't care about that, we can settle our problems right now, you cursed bitch." I cross my arms and square off against her. There's no way I can get along with her. She's too disgusting for my mind.

"Hey. What's the problem here?" The shrine maiden? Have I been so focused on this Youkai in front of me that everything else zoned out? I see Rinnosuke was the one to get her. "Are you guys trying to make more work for me?" She seems to be smiling, but that can quickly turn into irritation if we actually do cause a brawl here.

"Why did you allow her back in here?"

"Why do you think i'm staying around her?" She answers my question with one of her own. So, she's actually on a leash. That's acceptable...I guess. Still makes me upset though.

"…Fine. Yuuka, let's take this somewhere else." Her smile turns into a frown at my words. What, did she really think that I would endanger random people in our brawl? No, not a brawl, a fight to the death. I want nothing more than to wring my hands around her goddamn neck, for good this time.

"That seems fine." At least she had the courtesy to agree, not that I would let her go even if she didn't want to start the processes of mutual killing. Can't call it fighting, otherwise it'd break a promise.

"Don't let them go on their own Miss Reimu." Cue Rinnosuke interrupt. "They'll start killing each other immediately once they leave. They'll also cause a huge incident if they even meet each other. These two are instruments of chaos that choose not to get along!" He points at the both of us and tells lies.

"First, I'm not an instrument of chaos. Second there's no choice about it. Third, when have I ever caused an incident?" I raise my brow at Rinnosuke. Although, I might cause a big incident if it helps me get back home. I put my hand over my face and let out an agonized sigh.

Do I really want to go back…? I pulverize that stray thought immediately.

"You did come to kill me yesterday." Yuuka tells the shrine maiden about what I did. I glare at her.

"You deserved it. I'm gonna keep trying to kill you until you die. You won't stop the threat of death until you kill me with your own hands. Can you feel it, Yuuka? The destiny of our blood?" I spread both of my hands. I know I'm not the only one who feels this abnormal hatred. Dark Matter starts flaking off of my body causing a negative effect on a small part of reality around me.

"I do feel it. I don't want this annoyance lingering around me any longer, so I guess we can finish things tonight…" A whisper that reaches only my ears. We smash our heads into each other with bared teeth on one side and a terrifying smile on the other. I can see her for the ugly Youkai that she is in full. That green aura of power threatens to destroy the entire village. Right when I raise my hand to send her out of the village…

"Don't cause me trouble!" Reimu smacked the back of my head hard with that damn stick right on my head. Combined with all of the lack of sleep, I went right into a half-sleeping state. I also saw her hit Yuuka in the same spot, much to my joy. I didn't feel that much joy when I fell on the ground tired though. Reimu looked surprised at my state.

"Miss Reimu, he's tired from doing extracurricular activities." That makes it sound like I've been doing some sketchy things.

"Him and Yuuka ignored the rules of the spell card battles and began a life-and-death duel multiple times." He pushes his glasses up and throws me under the bus. Reimu glares at me, but I have the excuse of already being injured, so she turns on Yuuka who doesn't look amused at all.

"It seems I have to beat the rules into people!" Rinnosuke looks a bit panicked and picks me up. He flies away before a crazy battle can begin.

* * *

Yeah, that's about what happened last night. I still feel a lingering anger, but I need to cool off and do something else today. I guess I owe Rinnosuke for not letting me be controlled by my instincts.

"You two have a lot of unresolved sexual tension." He whispers to himself, but unfortunately for him, I actually heard those blasphemous words. I instantly appear in front of him and slam the counter. He drops the book in shock and looks at my deranged eyes.

"You…you dare say such a horrid thing? To even entertain the thought of me having a positive relationship with her is the height of folly, Morichika Rinnosuke!" I call him by his full name to convey just how annoyed I am at his line of thought. "That's no good. That's no goddamn good at all!"

"I think…that you should calm down? And you should also try and make up with her." Impossible. Making up requires that we even had a healthy relationship in the first place. We started off with hatred, the very worst kind. There's no making up.

Do you even understand what that person is really like? No, I won't even consider her a person. I'm going to send that bitch straight to hell.

Shouldn't I focus on getting home instead of a meaningless hatred that won't last…?

My mind cools off instantly. I pull a book out of my hoodie. There's this thing that I can translate with the language books I borrowed from the library. There're also the dimensional travel books I need to finish. There's one theoretical time travel book as well. There's a lot of things I need to do to get home. I look at Rinnosuke with a placid gaze.

"Yeah, I'm calm now." I've attainted a serene state of mind temporarily. There's a lot of things to do today. "Rinnosuke, can I call in sick today? I'm still injured from that concussion that red-white gave me." He picks up his book and begins reading again.

'Yeah, that's fine, but you need to work again tomorrow. There's some extra things from yesterday to analyze." Good he agreed.

"Thanks. I'll see you when it's time to eat." I go back to the house and enter where I stored all of our objects. I pull out all of the books and carry them in my arms to my room. Some of these books are really large, like the language books and the dimensional travel book. Theoretical Time Travel is pretty short. I'll be cooped up all day reading these things.

First is time travel…

* * *

"Hey, it's time to eat." Rinnosuke calls out from an opened door. I look at him and put a bookmark on where I stopped. I'm nearly done with a two hundred-page book on traveling through dimensions unharmed and unchanged. Most of it is theory, but it's using the same concept of creating a barrier to cross barriers. It's kind of confusing, but I think I can manage it with my Dark Matter.

The most difficult part will be accessing the barriers between worlds. More than that is the barrier between fiction and reality. Can this place be considered fiction or reality? Are both worlds fiction to each other? To me, my home world is reality. That's where I came from and that's where I will die.

"Soup?" Dinner seems to be a heavy soup with mushrooms and meat in it. He chuckles sarcastically at me.

"Correct. Don't tell me you can't even consume mushrooms?" I don't rise to the bait and simply nod to him.

"Don't worry, I will." That's the only thing I can say to him. I begin slurping down the hot soup. I ignore how it's burning my esophagus in a pursuit to return to my studies. He's simultaneously shocked and disgusted by how fast I'm devouring the food in front of me. I set the bowl down after a minute. "Delicious."

"Completely clean…" Rinnosuke sounds distraught at my plate. "Did you even sate your gluttonous side? I'm pretty sure it tasted good, but you just skipped all of that." No time to care about such things.

"Contrary to popular belief, just because you eat something quickly doesn't mean you can't taste it." I mimic his tutor-like persona. "Now, let me use your shower wherever it is. Actually, do you even have one in this weird feudal Japan like place?" He points behind me.

"Last door on the left. I'll drop you some spare clothes." I wave that concern off. I can just clean these clothes of mine with my ability. There's a lot I can do with this actually. Dark Matter is extremely variant in its uses.

"No need. Don't show any concern for me." Don't care for me, don't worry about me, don't pay me, don't do anything for me. I'll be out of your hair once I find a way back. Back to my boring, dull life. Back to those halcyon days of mine. Back to those hellish days of mine.

I wouldn't trade it for the world…those dreamlike days of mine.

Taking a hot shower feels very nice. I'm the type to turn the knob all the way to the right for max heat. I love that burning feeling on my body. I've taken the bandages off, so the only thing soothing my body is the hot water. It makes my limbs feel loose and comfortable, like I could float away. This comes to an end like all good things though.

"Shit." The water turned completely cold. A shivering, freezing temperature permeates my entire body and chills me straight to the bones. I've taken cold showers before, so this is nothing for me. Now that I think about it, I had an extremely bad incident with a shower before I came here.

I clean up in the cold and turn the shower completely off. I look in the mirror to see tired brown eyes reflect off of it. I'm only going to get more tired from here on out.

I need to return home. The more I think about it, the more I want to return. Return or not return, my choice never factored in that decision. I'm going to return. I have to… To live my life to the fullest, I have to return home!

I step out and heat the water droplets off my body. I dress myself swiftly and walk out to see Rinnosuke cleaning the plates. He looks at me and does a double-take. Would've been better if he did a spit-take.

"Was your hair always that color?" He points in surprise at me. Wow, the dye lasted that long? I got dipped into the ocean from Yukari and it still lasted. I guess the shower was enough to remove it completely though.

I've always dyed my hair to make it look like the same as my grandparents. They used to have brown hair before it went grey, and my father had brown hair as well. Also that twin of mine... I thought it'd be fitting to copy them. To actually feel like a family.

I know that people say that blood isn't the end all and be all when it comes to family, but that didn't stop the bullying. Saying things like I was adopted and other hurtful things. Those things were just par for the course with my bad luck. I never hated my bullies because it's better to assume that they had some good in them.

"You got any hair dye?" He's looking at this rustic-red hair of mine. It looks like a faded dark-red mixed with a sharp orange. I do prefer the color of my family though. Sadly, he shakes his head in the negative.

"No, but even if I did, I think it's better for you like this. This is the real you isn't it? Take pride in your identity." My breath hitches for just the slightest, but I just give a melancholy smile. This sadness of mine would make anyone feel depressed, but it makes me feel happy. Sadness makes me content. This is my natural state. I'm not an emo guy.

"Nah, I like the "real" me more. Well, I can just make hair dye from Dark Matter. I know it's formula after all." All of me is the real me.

I create a dye-like substance and go back to the bathroom. I allow it to flow all over my hair back down to the roots. This is me. The real "Wil." I'm adopted, but I'm still a part of that wonderful family. I'm the last remaining member, so I have to go back.

I come back and put on a smile filled with happiness because I'm filled with joy. I've reaffirmed my resolve and I feel closer to my goal. I look at Rinnosuke who looks the complete opposite of me. "Yo, buddy. What's with that frown? Turn it upside-down!" I try and set a joking mood and it seems to have worked. Yeah, I don't like it when people are sad around me.

"You're actually right. You do look better with light-brown hair." I grin at him. Told you so!

"Right? That's one of the reasons why I do it. We can go pick up chicks like this, but sadly there's some things for me to do. I'll be happily working for you tomorrow when I wake up. Hopefully it'll be in the morning. I need to somehow fix my sleep schedule." I finish off with a sigh.

"Absolutely no picking up chicks. There's no telling when you'll get shanked by a knife!" He warns me with a grave tone. I don't take him seriously at all. Just because you had a bad experience with women doesn't mean I will. Besides, I prefer the normal type of woman from good old reality.

"I'll think back on your words when my bad luck screws me over, but other than that, I plan to stay away from relationships." I can at least offer these words to soothe his mind. That is true though. I never had a relationship and I don't plan on getting one. There're more important things than that after all.

I head back to my room with the book still fully open. That theory of forming a shield…it conflicts with the one where I split myself into infinitesimally small pieces to slip through the barrier. Could they both work though? Whether one is right or wrong, I still need to find a way to break through the barrier. Can I create something unnatural to do that?

I eventually finish the book at eight. I still got time before I need to head to bed, so I'll start on this weird book. The title is written in an abominable combination of Latin and Ancient Egyptian. This is going to be hell to translate. Might as well bring out both of the books and pick apart the letters.

The title reads…_Phases. _Sounds kind of weird. I'm gonna spend two hours on this then head to bed. I open it up and a whole bunch of dust flies off of it. Just how old is this book? When was this book written, and why did they write it this way. What's the purpose of it. I'll find all of those answers from reading everything. It's a long book though.

Oh god…just how many pages are in this book? It makes Rinnosuke's look like a damn children's book! Well after I read a bit, I'll tell him the function of the tools he got and I'll start practicing a way to get back home.

* * *

**3 Months Later...**

**Third Person POV**

"Yo, Rinnosuke." Rinnosuke looks up from his book to see his best and only employee of his store. He looks a bit subdued today walking in the store from the side entrance. Rinnosuke closes his book and adjusts his glasses.

"You're up early. Did something good happen to you?" His smile turns a bit brighter at being asked this question. That sentence sounds extremely familiar for some reason. The second one. That familiar question...just where has he heard that before?

"After nearly a year, I've finally made a damn breakthrough! You hear me Rinnosuke?! I think I'm nearly on my way back home!" He's never seen Wil this ecstatic about something before. Wil has been in Gensokyo for much longer than he would've liked, but time doesn't matter as long as he arrives back home on the same date that he left.

Just learning about the theory of time and dimensions wasn't enough. That book he received from Marisa luckily had magic theory in it. His body has an extreme rebound whenever he uses magic, but that's not going to stop him. Rinnosuke had to patch him up multiple times after his use of magic.

"Oh…really?" Wil notices his change in mood and decides to comment on it. Any other time he would assume Rinnosuke was on his man period, but he's feeling pretty good.

"What's wrong? Today's a great day!" Wil does a little spin in place from sheer joy. He stops and just looks up at the ceiling with a smile containing a combination of emptiness and relief.

"Do you really want to go back to a place where there's nothing for you?" The illusion falls apart. Wil doesn't consider it a lie, but a façade created unconsciously from his resolve. "There's nothing at all left there! You've told me about those great days, but there's nothing great about it!" Rinnosuke starts raising his voice. Wil doesn't understand what he's getting upset about.

He opens his mouth about to say something along the lines of, "so what," or "I made a promise." Something that shuts off the conversation permanently. But now…he decides to open up finally.

"Hey Rinnosuke, I never told you about my life before I was adopted." Wil stares straight at Rinnosuke's anger with a melancholy smile. He pulls up a chair and sits directly across the counter from him. "I'm unlucky, but back then…I was truly a plague of misfortune. Dunno if God hated me or something, but everything bad happened to me. Getting sick, causing people to get sick around me, causing families to break apart from random incidents…I was even assaulted because one of the parents blamed me for the death of their child."

Rinnosuke's extremely quiet now. This is the first time that Wil decided to open up about his past. Rinnosuke has barely told him about his life, but Wil decided to open up first. He opened up before Rinnosuke even came to terms with his everything falling apart.

"The orphanage I was in shut down and I was forced to fend for myself on the streets. I eventually met a family that was kind enough to take me in. Grandparents, parents, and even a younger brother who actually looked a clone of me minus the actual hair color. We eventually called each other twins once I dyed my hair light brown."

Wil's regaling his past like it was something extremely joyful. Rinnosuke can already predict the next part though. Nothing good ever lasts when it comes to this person in front of him. He's a sponge for calamity.

"It turns out that one of the unfortunate victims of my curse decided that he wanted me dead. My mother took a knife for me. He got off scot-free. Talk about bad luck yeah?" Wil laughs a bit to himself, but the halfling cannot join him at all. Who can laugh at the tragic jester in front of him?

"This part's really good though! Keep listening." That excited façade is uncrackable by this point. "My grandparents won a lottery because I told them which numbers to put in, I even thought my luck was turning around!" He raises his hands in the air. A wide grin. "But! The place where they were going to cash in got bombed." A morbid end. The child's tears have already dried up from the very start.

"Next was my brother and my dear old dad. Not even I can get excited at this tale." Rinnosuke would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit curious at this. "They both got into a car crash. The end." Wil's smiling like he told a joke. "But wait! There's more!"

The storeowner doesn't feel like listening to this anymore. He feels sick looking at the dissonance between the Wil now and his past. How can someone who went through so much still smile and show actual joy? Rinnosuke's confusion forces him to power through the tale.

"My dad survived on life support. We kept talking with hopes that he would recover…but he kept slipping into a coma for longer and longer periods. His very last words were _live your life to the fullest. _I floundered around for a bit after that. I then pulled the plug on him and killed my last remaining family in this world. I ended up here shortly after that."

"I don't have any more ties Rinnosuke! I'm all alone now and I have nothing. I started with nothing and I ended with nothing! Don't you see? This is my resolve! I'll…definitely get back and finally die to the fullest!" Rinnosuke was completely blown away by Wil's words. Nothing can come out of his mouth. What could he even say. He doesn't think he's good at comforting people, and this exposition dump just came out of nowhere!

"Don't worry about me though. I'll be perfectly fine." Wil sends him one last smile from the bottom of his heart before changing the flow of the conversation. "Let's talk about more interesting things. Like the time I've spent here!" He raises a single finger. "Number One at causing chaos is what you called me right?"

Rinnosuke puts that entire episode of lunacy out of his mind temporarily. If Wil jumps off of it like a man with a split personality, then he will also ignore it for the time being. He wants to question even further, but he understands what keeping to oneself is like. All he can do is try to force positive emotions on hisself.

"Still though, I've been here for quite a while now, and I didn't even cause any incidents." Rinnosuke gives him a deadpan look. There were many minor events that he caused while he was here. He nearly caused the Human Village to literally go under a mass of plants from pissing off Yuuka beyond what's normal.

His presence always sets her off, but he did something awful. He burned down her entire sunflower garden and even found her house. That got burned down as well. He said that it wasn't him the first time, but he did it the second time because of something like 'principles.'

There was no proof it was him, but Wil showing up to taunt her while she was in the Human Village nearly made her destroy everything in a furious wrath.

In the end, it took Reimu, Marisa, and Wil to keep her from blowing everything up again. Reimu severely punished the both of them. Wil had the choice of repairing the entire garden or serving as Reimu's assistant for another month. He was worked even harder than the last time.

He was trapped between two hells, but when Rinnosuke asked him was the incident worth it, he responded predictably.

'You're damn right it was worth it.' That's what he said much to Rinnosuke's chagrin. Another part of him was extremely amused at the rivalry between those two. He can't call it a life-and-death hatred anymore because it can no longer be considered one. He once tagged along to see one of their "mutual killings" as Wil called it. He saw the battle between the two.

All he can was that it was interesting. It looked like they were sustaining off of their mutual hatred, which they probably are, but it doesn't seem like they desire the death of one another. As a matter of fact, Rinnosuke has the inkling that they may come to understand one another sooner or later. He believes that it's a kismesis. Those who detest one another, but can't live without the hatred they feel for each other.

"Rinny, I don't like that look on your face." He says with a serious face. Rinnosuke has told him many times not to use that name, but he doesn't listen at all. In Rinnosuke's opinion, Wil is number one at pissing people off. He saw Yukari nearly attempt to gap his body in half. The twitching of her fingers and eyes. She removed herself before she did anything.

Wil had an extremely confused smile on his face when he told him that he was making Yukari mad. He just said that people shouldn't hide their real ages and stuff like, "do you have any grandchildren?" The worst part was that he was being honest and trying to be friendly because Rinnosuke wanted him to.

The worst of his habits are his tendencies to wander around Gensokyo and piss people off. Within the span of his eight months here, he's triggered Yukari, Yuuka, Reimu, and he even set the entire Youkai Mountain on fire, which has the Tengu still trying to hunt down the person who did it. The silver lining is that he used his JoJo disguise.

"My bad." Rinnosuke says without a hint of actually feeling bad. "I was merely thinking off the incident on Youkai Mountain."

"That doesn't count as an incident. Also, that was an accident and you know it!" Wil was practicing using his JoJo disguise and ran into Cirno. He was bored and started to play with ice. They had a fun little spell card battle without any of the seriousness he usually puts in it. The weird thing is when he started summoning ice.

Wil's ice doesn't act like normal ice. He creates ice that doesn't follow the rules; for example, he summoned a glacier that burned everything it touched. Case in point, Youkai Mountain was lit on fire. Wil was chased by the Tengu goons along with Cirno.

"If that was an accident then what about the latest incident in that mansion…?" Rinnosuke is still curious about what happened there. Wil shut his mouth about it, but from what he found out, he went in there with his JoJo disguise to return the books. Things…happened. When Rinnosuke tried to inquire further Wil responded with, "Noodle Incident."

"You can always just lie and tell me what I want to hear." This is what got Rinnosuke the title of Filthy Gossiper" by Wil. He's almost as bad as Aya in some cases. He just wants to hear interesting things. Doesn't matter if they're truthful or not.

"Told you already: I don't lie at all." Even if that sounds like bogus in Rinnosuke's ears, that's the only thing that stayed stagnant about Wil. He still refuses to tell Rinnosuke what happened. When he pushed him, Wil gave him sudden tinnitus by slapping his ears with the palm of his hands.

Rinnosuke wasn't amused. He was amused even less when he tried to chase after Wil in fury, but couldn't catch up to him because he flew away at stupid high speeds. Wil tells him to stop holding back and chase him across Gensokyo, but he's rebuffed every time.

"Hmm?" Both of the people in the store notice a disturbance outside. Wil opens the door to see red mist covering everything.

"What's going on?" Rinnosuke gets up and analyzes the mist himself. He then pulls out a fan and blows it out of the store before shutting the door. He's giving off an aura of not-my-problem. Whenever there was a Youkai disturbance or something acting up, Rinnosuke was never curious enough to research it. The only time he wanted to get involved in events was when Wil was doing something dumb.

Or if Rinnosuke decided to disguise himself.

"Aren't you curious about it at all? This can be the last thing I check out before I go home you know." Whenever Wil brings up something about going home, Rinnosuke just seems a little bit down. Wil doesn't understand why though.

"Don't care. If it's an incident, then the shrine maiden will take care of it." Wil is exasperated by Rinny's lack of a sense of adventure and pure laziness. "If you want to check it out feel free to go ahead."

"Right-o! I'll be back in a bit, or I might not be back at all. This may be the last time you see me." His cheer doesn't change in the slightest. "I may just return home the moment I check this out, you know. Any last words?" He doesn't say anything, so Wil leaves.

Rinnosuke lets out a sigh. "What's even left to say?" There's nothing he can do to turn Wil away from the path he chose. The friendship between those two has grown into something strong, but all Wil is doing is substituting Rinnosuke for his younger brother. That kind of bond isn't healthy at all.

"Wil…" Rinnosuke glances at his sword from the corner of his eye.

The moment Wil finishes, he's severing everything. His ties to Gensokyo, his ties to the people he met here, his friendship, and even his hatred. Everything will be **_shattered._**

* * *

**Wil POV**

"Let's see…where should I stop by first? Guess I'll head over to that winding forest." That dumb Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Its name is definitely warranted. I've got trapped in the forest so many times, but Mokou was always there to help me out. I kept returning to that forest because of those damn rabbits. I heard seeing one of them is good luck.

I need that badly, but my bad luck is preventing me from gaining good luck. I fly over this place again and spot a large conflagration of flames. Is Mokou fighting her fellow immortal again? I remember when I first found out about her immortality. More like I ran face first into her battle against her immortal rival.

Luck's great. I wish I had some.

Anyways, I saw them both deal a fatal blow to each other much to my shock. Then they just began healing. I didn't question her until she was alone. She's quite open about her immortality shockingly. I still haven't actually talked to Kaguya. Better not be the one from Naruto, or we're gonna have some problems.

"Hey, you alright down there?" I fly down and see her chest split open. She won't die, but that doesn't mean she won't feel pain. I wait a while for her to pull herself back together. Of course, I get worried about her when I view her in this state, but she's immortal so it should be fine? I think I understand how the green fairy must feel when I grab Cirno for some shenanigans.

"I'm fine." Of course, she is. Well, time to break the news. But before that…

"You know anything about this red mist around us?" She stands up and gives me a gruff look. She's always grumpy right after being put in a fatal state like that.

"No. Don't care either." Her eyes seem to be asking me what I'm really here for.

"I'm leaving Gensokyo today, and I'm visiting everyone as a sendoff." I say with a joyful smile. Her eyes widen in minute shock, but she stabilizes herself. "What's wrong? Gonna miss me?" I poke the phoenix.

"Not really. I guess this is the last time we'll be talking then. I'm used to people going away, so go away already." She turns away to miss me nodding my head. The moment I say that, she just shuts me away like a deleted photo. You'll remember it sometimes, but it's not something you'll care about often. I guess immortals have to throw away a lot. I wonder how long she has lived...? Doesn't matter now.

Yeah, that's wonderful. I don't need to be missed. Nothing will matter at the end.

That's par for the course for someone like me. I'll live my crooked life back home and reject this wondrous life here. I refuse to live a lie no matter how beautiful it is. I'll live in the ugliest, harshest reality and die there like a dog in the mud.

It's lonely, but it's suitable.

"Heh. See you later."

"Wait." I stop and turn around. She looks likes she's hesitating to say something. "You're nothing but a bad luck charm...but you weren't that bad a person." How...interesting. So it seems I'm not universally annoying to everyone. That's...annoying.

I send her a transient smile and fly off without any regrets. There's no time for second guessing. I'm right for trying to return. There's nothing wrong with choosing reality at all. I won't run from it, nor will I reject it.

My next stop should be the Human Village. I touch down in the middle because most of the villagers already know some of the things I can do. It's taken them a while for them to get used to me, but it feels like talking to my co-workers. It's impersonal, yet it feels like a warm environment.

Ah, there's Keine. Reimu's there as well. "Hey guys." I wave to them cheerfully. They turn to me, one with an annoyed look and the other with a worried one. Keine is the first one to question me.

"Do you have any idea where this mist is coming from?" She sounds pretty concerned for the villagers, but the villagers themselves keep on working like it's the norm around here. Considering what this place is, it might as well be the norm.

"No clue. I'm going back home today though." Like I told everyone else, I respond with a voice filled with cheer. I'm so close…

"Really? Well good luck." Reimu that's a cruel thing to say considering how my luck is the complete opposite of good. She seems wholly unconcerned with my choice though. That's perfect. Keine seems to be wavering about something though.

"Are you sure you really don't want to stay? Even after the villagers have accepted you as one of them?" Trying to convince me into staying? Absolutely not.

"Nope. The only one who can change one's heart is the person themselves. Don't try to do otherwise. You'll always fail. That's all for Wil's wondrous words of wisdom. Keep that in mind for the future, but don't think of me when you remember those words." Forget me, pay me no mind, remove me from your memory.

"Hold on, why are there a lack of some villagers? What's more is that all of them were Outsiders!" My eyes narrow as I look through the population of the people. I can tell they were Outsiders like me because they didn't let go of their fashion from the outside. I notice the faces of Reimu and Keine darken.

"That is also another incident to solve. They went missing around a couple months ago. Have you really not noticed before?" Reimu derisively asks me. I was cooped up in the room working on a breakthrough for that duration of time. I barely went outside and when I did, I never went to the Human Village. "You're free to help out if you want."

I'm worried, I want to find out what happened to them and help them out if possible. But I also want to go home. The desires of my family are warring with my own desires to help others. I…I'm going to complete to visits and go home. My desires don't matter in the face of other desires. My family wanted me to live my life to the fullest.

That creates a conflict of interest because I don't care about my own life at all.

But…if my family wanted that…if my dad's last words were that…then I…I'll live my life back home and die there with them. That's the only fulfilling life that I can accept. There's really nothing left for me anyways except for this one goal. There're still two places left to go. I'm saving my wrath for last.

"I'll leave it you…_shrine maiden._"

The moment I start walking out of the village, a certain familiar fortune teller calls out to me. I go over to his smiling hooded face and the tarot cards around him. "I see that you're finally leaving Gensokyo. How about one last reading, free of charge?" Another free one? He has much more cards than last time. Did he include the minor arcana?

"I'll take it." He does the same thing as last time with that glowing yellow aura around the cards. His smile eventually turns neutral as he finishes and looks up back to me. Before he speaks up, there's something I need to ask him.

"What's your name. I'll remember someone like you until the end, so I need a name for you." He pauses.

"Just call me Taka. Now pick four cards this time. No...draw two, then draw two more.." Two then two? Alright then. I hesitate for a bit and pick both cards at the same time. I hand them back to him as he analyzes them. I then pick two more instantly and he grabs them. I see his mouth open a bit as he lays the cards flat face-up.

"Hermit upright, Judgement upright, Five of Swords upright...and Death reversed." He goes quite for a bit. I wonder what this combination means?

"Hmm...you won't have a good ending at whatever you're trying to do." Naturally, I'm unlucky after all. And if I do get a bad ending, that's good cause that's what I'm aiming for. A bad ending back at my home.

"You will go through a period of introspection, which will lead to absolution and finding your inner calling after you discover something. Beware of what you find. After that you will go through a great conflict that you must win at all costs. Only after that will you reach personal transformation and inner purging." He looks at me with a grave grin.

"You don't have fortune at all. There's no good luck for you. You will get what you're searching for, but at what cost? Since you don't have any good luck, I'll at least wish you some." I wave him off as I leave the village. I don't know if he noticed my smile though.

I fly off and go to that Scarlet Devil Mansion with heavy thoughts on my mind. I'm not going to enter it and talk to anyone though. Just gonna view it from afar. Moving around in this mist is a pain though, trying to scour my way through this place. I think I've reached the lake. Now to go to the ridge.

Yup, there it is in all of its glory. I still see that the Chinese-looking lady is still there. I actually never found out her name, so she's been referred to as China in my head. Nothing really to do here.

There's one last place to go to. The Garden of the Sun. For better or for worse, I've survived multiple battles with that crazy Youkai over there. Rinnosuke has gotten it into our mind that we are becoming friendlier somehow, but he couldn't be more wrong. The hatred we feel for each other has not waned in the slightest.

On my way there I swerve out of the way from a certain gap. All those eyes inside of it makes me think I'm getting ganked by the crawling chaos itself. Ugh, it's her…

"Oh my, I'm surprised you haven't left Gensokyo yet. What might you be doing?" Talks like a high-class lady, but gives an ass whooping like a first-class wrestler. "Thinking about the time we fought?" Of course, I am. That was only around four months ago, but it'll stick with me till the end.

That was an extremely abnormal fight, but that's a story for another time.

"What do you want Yakumo?" The outcome of our fight…it doesn't change how I treat her in the slightest. She's still a very unnerving and annoying person to be around, but she'll be out of my hair soon enough.

"I want to know why you are bothering to give a final tour around this place? Are you continuing to stall again, Wil?" I give a minute flinch. Yeah, there's no way I'll ever forget that…

"Yeah I'm stalling. I know this method will get me back home, but there are still things I have to do. I have to live a life with no regrets…so I'll leave this place with no regrets." It seems my answer has satisfied her just a bit.

"What if you decide to stay?" What? That's a meaningless question. There's no way I'll stay here. Just what is she getting at? She notices my annoyed confusion. "Just answer my question." She hides the lower part of her face with a fan.

"If I stay then…I don't know." The sound of her laughter is like irritating bells.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same. This phrase applies to you quite well. You just keep standing up and chasing. That can be viewed as an entertainment of its own." She reveals her smile behind the fan. Before...she would be someone right below Yuuka on my list of people I don't like. For a myriad of reasons that changed a little bit. I can't say I hate her, but I still don't like her.

"Just remember...I always get what I want in the end." Ominous.

"Don't let me keep you." Because it was my last day here, I did something that will warm my heart until I die. I kicked this Yakumo right in the spine back into her gap. She never expected someone like me to have the guts to do this to her after our fight in the boundaries. The look on her face satisfied me immensely. I plugged her gap before she decides to get petty revenge.

'Plugged her gap' is a weird euphemism that I will never say again.

Since she's out of sight, I put her out of mind and put Yuuka on my mind.

I stoke the flames of anger and keep it from going out for eternity. I'm sure she's holding on that same rage similarly like me. Even if we tried to let it go, there's no way it could dissipate. This will be our last battle. That means…that all things will end here. I'm nearing the Garden of the Sun.

I've touched down, but the place feels void of life. There's no Youkai, fairies, or anything here. The only thing I see are completely closed sunflowers. Even though the sun is out, they aren't facing the sun, but downwards with their petals covering their head from the world. Almost like how Yuuka completely shuts down any attempt at understanding. Well, it's not like I tried to understand her.

I walk forward waiting for Yuuka to greet me with either her perpetual frown or smile as usual. Then we can begin our last battle. However, no one is here at all. I keep walking forward in this endless field of snoozing sunflowers all the way until the end. Eventually I come across a very familiar cottage. I should know because I burnt it down and rebuilt it after all.

I gently open the door. Thankfully no one is hanging from a ceiling fan.

I've only been in her home twice. The first time she invited me to a trap, which came very close to killing me. The second time is when I burned down her house and her garden while she was rejuvenating the soil.

I wander around the house for the final with hands in pockets. Might as well properly take in the place before moving on. It's a nice homely cottage, not what I would expect from a person like her. Absolutely destroys one of my perceptions of her. Still doesn't deplete my distorted rage towards her in the slightest though.

I start a small spark and light the cottage on fire. This is the last battle, so I'm going to make her furious. We're going to settle this with our rage burning at max. That's the only way this match will go. I will win and she will die. Our ties will be severed and I will finally be able to leave with no regrets. I look down at my right hand very deeply.

"We're going to finish it this time…" I walk out of the burning house and go even further deeper into the garden. The deepest parts of it, which I've never been in before. The moment I enter small forest I start hearing a voice talking.

"I heard from nature that this is your last day… You've saved me for last? You want to finish things for good? You want me at my best?" I hear these words echo throughout the forest as I go deeper. They only progressively get louder. I refuse to respond to the voice. There's a large shadow in the center of a road of trees. I go through it and come out in what seems to be an entirely different world.

It literally looks like I've wandered into a fantasy world. The sky only shows darkness in stars, very similar to being in outer space. This place gives me an extremely bad feeling, but I press onwards nonetheless. There are no doubts left, I have to kill her.

I walk for what seems like forever and reach a mansion. There's no gatekeeper here so I kick the doors wide open. All I got for my efforts were a large creaking sound and the dread of silence. There's an extremely long hallway before me and a set of double doors at the end.

"Don't have time for these shenanigans…" I run to the door immediately and stop there. "What is this sense of malice I'm feeling?" I feel just a small bit of hesitation before gripping the handles and throwing the door open. I'm…treated…to one heck of a…sight.

"What…the…fuck? My brain can't comprehend what I'm seeing before me. I want to yell and scream and destroy whatever my eyes are sending to my brain, but all I can do is stand there in mute horror.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

_It's finally happening...it always happens,_

_The bad luck draws everything down,_

_Misfortune consumes everything,_

_**IT** always appears._

_What you desire,_

_What you disdain,_

_No matter the era..._

_You always choose that path that leads to ruin!_

He looks at the green-haired _devil _in front of him reveling in this tragedy. A parade of corpses, no not corpses, they're still alive. But they'd be better off dead with the condition that they are in. Many bodies strewn up like party lights with their gray gaunt bodies hanging for the world to show.

"Oh, you've made it before I was finished!" Yuuka says a bit excited to see Wil. Her bloodthirsty grin matches the messy ballroom. Her maniacal red eyes staring into nearly empty brown ones. Wil feels like he's going to break by seeing this sight.

"It took a bit to crack the type of person you were, but I eventually figured you out. Someone who can't stand others getting hurt, but it's fine for them to get hurt. Do you think you're some type of 'hero?' Well then, go ahead and save them hero." She mocks the horrified Wil as she turns around to remove the mess.

What he's seeing is where the missing Outsiders wound up. He sees it, but doesn't want to comprehend it at all. Extreme shock and despair turn into anguish. "Why…?"

"Hmm?" She turns back around to see Wil shaking in place. Not out of fear…

"Why the hell would you do something like this, huh?! What did they fucking do to you. You goddamn bitch!" This is the very first time that he has shown rage like this in his entire life. He tightly grips his right arm in anger. The pain is the only thing keeping him stable.

"You feel that anger don't you. That's what I've felt for you all this time. I wanted you to understand. We are natural enemies, but I've always hated you more than me. You've always had something else on your mind. About getting home? There will be no interruptions this time. Let's start this the moment I clean these creatures up." She finishes with a smile.

"Don't you like how I pierced all of their bodies with thorny roots. I'm even feeding them the bare minimum of nourishments to keep them alive in this place. I've been waiting for you to face me with everything you had for a while. I nearly got bored and started killing them.

"Stop it…" He pleads with her.

"I always tried to come up with new ways to torture them. Maybe feed parts of them to my plants…oh! I also peeled off their skin! You can see the red and gray blending together quite nicely, can't you? I made this scene just for you!"

"Stop it you bastard!" He can't stand this. He wishes it were all a dream. He wishes he came sooner. He wishes he wasn't such a misfortunate loser. That's right…all he can do is lose, lose, and lose. All he keeps doing is losing, No matter who he saves or what he protects, he keeps losing more.

Wil can't look at this despair-inducing sight in front of him any longer. The person who caused all of this…he glares right at her with burning eyes. Tears run down his face from frustration with himself and rage. He rubs his eyes raw and nearly screams. He's clenching his jaw so tightly it feels like his teeth will shatter.

"I hate humans. I hate you even more. I wanted to find a way for you to experience that same hatred. Yes, this is all your fault. You never should have come to this wonderful paradise." A neutral stare matches a pissed-off one.

Wil somehow fuels his body with determination to look on at this ugly sight in front of him. He knows that he never should have come here. What's happening right now...he's blaming everything on himself.

"I won't forgive you, I'll never forgive you! You think you can get away with this shit and not pay the consequences? What do you mean hatred?! What do you mean fault?! You decided to do this all on your own! Passing the blame like that won't absolve you of any guilt! I understand that I bear some blame, so I'll pay for that later, but you're going to pay right now!"

"Oh? What are you going to do then?" The parasol closes as she presses down on it like a cane. Her smile gained an edge to it. The end to a long series of battles will finally come.

"The stage is set, we've reached the curtain call. Now all that's left is one last dance." If Wil focused just a bit, he would've noticed something off about her.

"I thought for the smallest moment, that there could be acceptance between us." He takes a moment to sound distraught. "Even if it was nothing but hatred, that's a bond that people can understand. But…you!"

"No matter what happens, I can't accept you! Now that you've gone so far to piss me off, I'll never forgive you! I'd risk my body and soul to destroy you! I won't forgive, I won't forgive, I definitely won't forgive you! You'll regret making me, Wil Greyson, your enemy! I'll kill you no matter what! No matter what happens, I'll erase every cell of you from this world!"

He swore on the name of his family. Something that he never wanted to bring to this world.

"Wonderful! Just the thing I wanted to hear. Now then, shall we dance? Let's forget all our worries for the day and actually kill each other permanently! After all, all good things must come to an end, right Wil?!" She roars at him and finishes it off with a loud guffaw.

"I've decided that you need some more motivation! If you kill me, then that's your satisfaction, but if I win, then you have to be tied up and watch as I systematically torture every last Outsider to the death! I might even include every single human in Gensokyo! What do you say?! Great, right?!" Yuuka's completely lost it for some unknown reason, but Wil found something to stand on.

He looks at one of the people hanging on within an inch of their lives. He sees him mouth something at him. 'Save us.' His wish was received by Wil with a sharp nod.

"You think that you can toy with the lives of humans like that? _I'll definitely smash that damn delusion of yours!"_

"I see I'm still not your main focus...! I won't kill you, _I'll ruin you!"_

Now, fight.

Clench your fist to protect your goal.


	8. Continue the UNKNOWN

Chapter 8

My goal right now is to save every single person suffering in this mansion. To do that, I have to destroy this grinning devil in front of me. But…as I look over to the suffering people needing my help now, I can't help but put Yuuka out of the forefront of my mind.

Something that I guess she doesn't really appreciate at all. "Didn't you say you were going to smash my delusion? What are you waiting for?" That mocking tone seems to have a lot more bite to it than usual. I manifest my six white wings in preparation for an attack, but she doesn't move. It seems she's satisfied with me making the first move.

So…I send blades of wind through all of the vines entangling the Outsiders. I create Dark Matter constructs to lie them down carefully. I don't even pay attention to my enemy as I do this. I have a feeling that this will make her utterly furious. For a target of your hatred to ignore you completely must be infuriating.

That's why I know she won't pay attention to the outsiders anymore. What can I do to get them out of here though?

I instantly cut off a vine barreling right towards me. I turn around to see an amazing sight to be honest. Four green wings and two purple wings are manifesting from her back. I never expected her to be holding this much out on me. Her eyes have completely shifted to green and it seems she seriously aims to kill me, even more than usual.

I'm not the type of person who can think calmly while feeling this pissed off. I can't just cool my anger and pretend like this shit isn't happening. Looking at this horrible sight...

That's fine. I'm going to destroy her. Every last cell. All of our battles until now have culminated into this. I've experienced and understood all of her patterns and tendencies and I'm sure she's done the exact same. I begin flying up to her level as I convert my entire body into Dark Matter. Something amuses her as she stares at her victims.

I'm barely holding my body together as white flakes try to fall off. Every part of my body turns a pale white. My skin, hair, clothes.

"Did you know? In this place, any regular human will dissolve into nothing in about a few hours." What?! That means…and I can't even get these guys out of here! I have to finish this fast!

I can guess that she was forcibly keeping them alive with those bramble thorns piercing through them, but now there's nothing preventing them from scattering to nothing. If they get caught up in this fight, they'll die. If I try to put all my focus on them, she'll do everything in her power to kill them.

Damn… No matter what I do, I can't save anyone. Wait…maybe there's something I can do. If I bet my own life on it, then maybe I can do something. I look at Yuuka straight in the eyes as I made my decision. I prepare to act on it, but then I hear a catchy jingle progressively getting louder.

It reaches the pinnacle of its volume as everyone conscious looks at a large vehicle bursting through the wall. It breaks through the walls drifting on its side as it comes to a full stop. The door opens and reveals Rinnosuke!

"W-what are you doing here?!" I'm truly surprised by this guy showing up. I was prepared to have a futile struggle against this bitch, but then this guy comes in and ruins the mood. He pushes up his glasses and looks around the entire place. He first notices me, then the pile of nearly dead bodies, then Yuuka.

He isn't saying anything, but the way he flatlined, and the way he's thumbing the sword he's carrying on his waist tells me all I need to know.

Rinnosuke is not happy at all. I don't know what caused him to be in a bad mood, but this situation can only make it worse. I have no idea how he got here, but I need to make the most of it.

"Wil. Tell me everything that's happening here." He orders me in a tone that brokers no arguments in the slightest. I don't have the time to tell him anything so I merely point to the nearby bodies on the floor.

"Rinnosuke. Please get them out of here. I just need you to do that. I'll…settle everything myself." I see him start to open his mouth. "Don't say anything and get these guys out of here already! Go get them some proper treatment!" I turn back to see an amused smile on Yuuka's face.

If I never came to Gensokyo, then Yuuka would have never done something like this. I have to right my wrongs and win this fight at all costs. I definitely can't lose here under any circumstances.

I here Rinnosuke shuffling bodies into that van. I wall them off from this battle between us. If I'm going to have any chance at winning this at all, then I'll have to play dirty. Once Rinnosuke leaves, I can set up some traps. For now, I need to hold her off with everything I have.

"You already know that my domain is nature, but did you know that nature doesn't only consist of plants?" She tilts her head in an irritating way towards me. She holds out both of her hands and fire begins congregating in her palms.

Nature... So, she meant the earth, the sea, the sky, and even natural disasters? That's all nature. She can control all of that? Sure enough, only I can be this unlucky in finding nemeses.

The small fire leaves her hands and explodes into a gigantic firestorm that feels like it will swallow the world.

I can't overpower her, so I have to counter everything she throws at me. Fire can be offset by wind, so I flap my wings and create a hurricane to knock the fire back. Unlike normal fire though, this one pushes onward. I begin sucking the oxygen out and holding the results of it in my palm.

I create an opening in the firestorm and detonate the oxygen bomb to spread the large fire throughout the mansion. Everything is on fire. In this burning room, I can truly see the monster's face.

An utterly demented smile illuminated by the backdrop of orange flames.

Once I hear the van take off, I let down the wall to conserve brainpower. It's just us two left now. Thorny plants erupt from beneath the floor and catch fire. The burning plants speed towards me in an attempt to impale me.

A cyclone offsets them from their intended location. Twenty more arise. I sever six of them with lasers and dodge the other fourteen as they trail from behind me. I duck beneath a laser that comes out of nowhere. I take to the skies and face down a multitude of lasers from Yuuka. I fly around them and let loose some lasers of my own.

She obviously wins the beam clashes, but all I needed to do was buy some time. I drop on of the destroyed vines as I look up at an irritated face. I flatly stare at her.

"You're not so complicated at all. Anyone can understand your core if they just get to know you a little bit." I say this arrogantly in an effort to catch my breath a little bit. I also just want to piss her off.

This state of mine is an attempt to convert my body into Dark Matter. The problem with this is that I have no idea how to turn myself completely into Dark Matter and take full advantage of it.

I need to have a perfect understanding of the human body and how it works to even attempt such a thing. So, all I can do is make some conversation with her to gain her curiosity. Don't know how to do that when everything I do seems to piss her off.

"Oh? And what do you mean by those words?" Case and point.

She tries to bury me in a forest which destroys a part of the mansion. Before I can fall into the ravine, the plants themselves turn white and break apart into Dark Matter.

That garnered an extreme reaction from her. One of fury. "Your core is relatively simple. I just had to break it down and understand that. You can't beat me anymore."

I can convert anything she throws at me into Dark Matter. She's the only one I can do this to because of the obscene amount of times we've come into conflict.

Because I understand her power so well, I can break it down. The fires that are burning down parts of the mansion suddenly explode and rocket towards her. That was a trap I placed. The oxygen bomb sent particles of dark matter into the flames for me to control.

I use my hands to direct the flames towards her. All of a sudden, lasers burst from her body and blow away the flames like they were nothing. Some of the lasers fly towards me.

I can't break them down? I barely manage to put a wing in front to protect myself, but that blew a hole in the wing and the laser nearly blew a complete hole in my body. The blast sends me flying to the end of the room.

Damnit! That hurts!

I grit my teeth and pull myself off of the wall. I repair the sizzling wing and give it a test flap. I blow away all the smoke from the explosion and see a grinning Yuuka.

"Isn't this wonderful?!" Even if I crack her core, she still has something up her sleeve.

"Indulge me a little bit Yuuka." Even if I don't want to talk to her at all, even if I don't want to accept her at all, I need to know why she did what she did. Why was it necessary to hurt those people like that? I don't buy her initial reason.

She perks up from my words. "No, I won't indulge you at all." Her wings start shining and more lasers erupt from her towards me. Now that I know that I can't break them down, all I can do is evade them and toss Dark Matter at her. I attempt to trap her in a black box, and she shatters it with a wave of her hand.

She turns around to see me behind her. My hand is up to her face and I let loose a wave of acidic water in her face. This attempt at drowning can only by me some time.

What will it take to kill her? The source of her hatred for me… I'm an unnatural existence. Could I be a poison to this world?

In my momentarily contemplation, Yuuka suddenly appears unharmed with my neck in her hand. She's got me in a vice grip. I struggle to peel her fingers off of my throat as the crush down on me, but I can never hope to compete with her unnatural strength.

As I begin to lose air, all of the acidic water begins to rise and surround Yuuka in a globe of water. I hear sizzling sounds, but her regeneration makes it useless. Her hand clamps down tighter as I feel bones start to creak. As the edges of my vision start to blacken, that same smile appears.

It makes me want to break it.

The water turns into a cascade of buzzsaws and shreds her body into pieces. More specifically, the hand that was clenching my throat was sawed off. I fly back and begin to catch my breath.

"To be honest, even if I do control all nature, I'm not the best at things other than plants and fire. I like seeing these blooms and wither away. I wonder what the world's enemy would look like if it bloomed?" She of course regenerates all the damage that I've dealt to her.

"To let you leave this place…would put a very bad taste in my mouth, so I'll end you here." Here we go.

Lasers blast off again, but they scatter into more lasers and break off into bombs. The vines come barreling on all sides as I barely keep up with them. My brain's on fire as I keep up with all the trash in the way.

The main threat is the lasers. While I kept a trained eye on Yuuka and used all of the Dark Matter to offset everything, I barely noticed a parasol in the corner of my vision falling downwards in a flipping motion.

I didn't pay any attention to it because of everything else in the way. It was like it was slow motion.

I flash froze the room with my Dark Matter to stun the plants and I knocked away the last laser. That same laser went towards the falling parasol as it opened up and reflected the laser back to me in speeds that I couldn't keep up with. It tore through all of the Dark Matter in the way, and I couldn't dodge it.

As it ripped through all of my defenses and offenses, there was only one thing going through my mind.

'Where the hell did her parasol come from?'

* * *

**Third Person POV**

The destructive and narrow laser ripped right through Wil's head. It entered through his left eye and exited through the back of his head. All sorts of bone, blood, and brain matter was knocked out of his skull as he fell forward in a puddle of blood.

A bemused Yuuka looked on as the parasol she tossed away earlier reflected a laser and won her the battle. She's confused at the outcome of the fight. She's feeling a mixture of relief, disappointment, and happiness all at once. She had no idea where her parasol came from.

She thinks back to the fight where Wil was tossing around storms of wind and guessed that it might have knocked the parasol around. Something like that should have made her chuckle, but it didn't.

She's no longer feeling anything. After looking at the unmoving person in front of her, she doesn't know what to feel. Ever since she met him, all she's been thinking about was her garden and him. Definitely not romantically, but still, that's all she thought about. For better or for worse, he was a force that changed her long life. It was a short but wonderful distraction.

She wanted to know his breaking points, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, and everything about him.

"I wonder if you felt the same way?" She kicked Wil's body. "Oh…that's right. You're…dead? You truly are unlucky." Yuuka turns and walks away with robotic movements. Back to the same dull life. She got a taste of something different and only realizes that she wanted to keep it no matter what. It's not like she needs it though.

Luck. It's always been a part of Wil's life. Never of the good kind though. He was always an unfortunate person who always believed in his misfortune. He's even adopted a fatalistic ideology that accepts his bad luck. When something terrible happens he just rolls over for it.

He no longer remembers when he tried to find a solution to his misfortune. He resigned himself to his bad luck. He accepts all of the misery and disdain with open arms and a smile because that's all he deserves. Birth family dead. Adopted family dead. Everyone he's around will eventually die an ugly and pointless death, so who would dare accept someone like him?

He's resigned himself to that. He's stopped living. He stopped smiling. He stopped doing anything. That all changed when he was swept away to Gensokyo.

Time started to move for him again, and that scared him.

He was afraid. More than anything, he was afraid of actually becoming happy. The foreign feelings of joy filled his body and all he could do was shut them away and fall back on his methods of irritating others.

'Don't pity me, don't remember me, don't care about me.' That's all he wanted from others. He wanted to be disregarded like he deserves to be.

It was Rinnosuke who easily destroyed his philosophy. Someone who reminds Wil of his little brother greatly. There are some differences though. Then there's this Yuuka in front of him. Someone who thinks that he's worthy of hatred and scorn. It gives him mixed feelings.

In a way, you can call Wil a human who wants to stop existing. However, humans exist solely by being alive. He couldn't off himself because of his father's last words, so he's stuck in a conundrum. He can't even decide for himself. Indeed. Nothing but a coward who can't make his own decisions.

All these thoughts are flashing through his ruined mind. There's a hole in the left side of his brain which governs calculations, science, and mathematics. He can barely do calculations, and he belatedly realizes that he's going to die.

To him, being killed by Yuuka isn't all that bad. He wishes he could've at least gone home.

No, he needs to go home. After hearing how unlucky he was from Yuuka's mouth, his left-hand twitches. He can't even feel the right side of his body and he can't see out of his destroyed eye.

He has no choice but to use magic to regenerate the parts of his brain that does calculations.

A searing pain rushes through his body as he groans. Yuuka turns around in surprise as she hears his agonized grunts. There's a price to pay for using magic as an Esper. With a destroyed brain and trying to heal it with magic, there's an even bigger price.

He loses some things. Some names of people and places. Some bodily functions shut down and he mutes the desire for pleasure. A part of the Limbic System utterly collapses. He lost his sense of fear and anger.

"Who…are you again? Wait, that's right." He stands up wobbly and covers his left socket while breathing heavily. He just put a name to a face in front of him. He could never forget the person in front of him.

His vision returns clearly to him through one eye. He stops his dizziness and faces the person in front of him. In his state, he can no longer be considered an average human being. He's nothing more than a machine.

Yuuka. He feels like he should feel some type of negative emotion towards her, but he can't pinpoint it. The magic stops healing him.

His brain has regenerated, but he couldn't recover his eye at all. There's nothing to recover. It's completely destroyed beyond all recovery, and he doesn't have the magic to make create a new one. He can't even run delicate calculations anymore.

"You're alive." Yuuka feels some sort of joy and hatred at seeing Wil alive. That just means she has to destroy the body and the mind. Maybe even the soul if it's necessary. "You're really alive!" He doesn't know why the person in front of him is in an excited state.

"I'll stop you. I won't let you hurt anyone else anymore." Those words have no emotion, no drive at all, but there's still a sense of meaning and purpose behind them. He puts his hand up, palm facing her direction…

…and the entire mansion collapses.

Trying to use his ability is like fitting glue through a tight hose. The pressure is building up in the back of his head, so he can only use rough, destructive power, over delicate, precise calculations.

The entire mansion falls apart revealing a landscape of nothing but stars around them. They're not in outer space, but it almost seems like it.

"Don't you know? Even stars are a part of nature." She serenely states those words as the innumerable stars in the sky begin to fall. Wil isn't using a fine scalpel-like method in dealing with Yuuka anymore because he no longer can. All he does is throws an insane amount of rough and jagged Dark Matter at the stars while saving some for the frenzied plants and conflagration surrounding him.

It was a slaughter. The stars were snuffed out and the natural was overwhelmed by the unnatural. It was like rock paper scissors. Wil's scissors couldn't deal with Yuuka rock, so he switched to paper.

What Wil's ability truly lacks in is pure power. So, all he had to do was create more and more, so much more that not even Yuuka could deal with everything. After blasted through the brain, he couldn't keep up his six wings and Dark Matter body any longer. Resisting this place with his human body isn't ideal at all.

"Is that all you have Wil!" In response to Yuuka's passion, Wil responds with a blunt and cold air.

"Quantity is a quality of its own." A breezy wind picks up and explodes like firecrackers right next to Yuuka's side. The small explosion opened up a hole in her body. She has no chance to attack back because a tidal wave of Dark Matter threatens to swallow her. It's filled with jagged and blunt objects not even formed consciously.

It bruises and bites deep into her body.

No matter how strong she is, not even Yuuka can deal with an infinite amount of anything. A single person can always be taken down by an infinite number of ants, and that's exactly what happened here. Through dealing with all of that, she eventually left an opening that Wil didn't hesitate to take advantage of.

He kicked at the back of her knees and brought her down to the ground. Wil mounted Yuuka and shoved his hand inside her gut. The Dark Matter he forcibly spread throughout her body has drastically decreased her regeneration.

Yuuka is on the ground face up after using all of her power with reckless abandon trying to hold him off. The fight lasted two hours in total, and he only has around one hour left before his body starts to dissolve.

From the ground Yuuka blankly stares up into the starry sky. She then looks at Wil in his one eye with a smile on her face. "Are you going to finish me off now? You said you were going to erase every single cell of my body from this world after all." She says it with a airy tone, like it doesn't concern her in the slightest.

"I said that…?" Wil barely remembers the day.

"Come on Wil. What are you waiting for? Your prize is right here. Finish me off already. That's what we were aiming for in the first place, right? Right?! We wanted to kill each other, so—" "That's enough already." Wil's words shut down anything else Yuuka was going to say. Those tired words seem to hold another meaning in them.

"I don't care about that anymore. I'm leaving Gensokyo and returning back to my own world. Also…I just can't kill you for some reason. Yeah…I refuse to kill you." He nods to himself as he has just realized something. "You can just live your life as if we've never met before."

Yuuka can't possibly do such a thing. She's already tasted something foreign and she doesn't want to let go. This invasive human before her is absolutely not allowed to leave.

"Wait. You can't leave." Wil gives off a tired sigh. He unzips his torn, messy black jacket and folds it. Below the jacket is a long-sleeved white shirt. He throws it at Yuuka's injured body much to her dismay.

"If you're going to miss me so much then you can just keep something to remember me. I on the other hand, definitely won't miss you in the slightest and I won't need anything to remember you by." That annoyed her. The way he unknowingly taunted her without a care annoyed her.

"I'm leaving now. Oh...wait a second." Wil turns to leave, but remembers something. He turns back around and gives his worst enemy an empty smile with no meaning in it at all. "I don't regret meeting you." Yuuka watches Wil wander off from her realm. She tries to shove down feelings of desolation as she regenerates her body extremely slowly.

* * *

Wil drags his body across the sunflower garden. The external injuries from Yuuka and the internal injuries from healing himself with magic are slowing him down. His ability is also hampered with a damaged brain.

He was extremely close to death. The closest he has ever been in his life. Normally, something like that would muster up some lingering fear, but in his state, he can't do that. To heal himself, he had to injure himself. Because of that, his brain didn't regenerate perfectly.

"What a pain." Wil attempts to at least pull out two wings. He hopes that the people Rinnosuke saved are alright. At least he thinks that he hopes that.

Everything is a confusing jumbled up mess for him. Using his ability only makes it worse, but he has no choice.

After researching and studying for 8 months, he's finally discovered a way back to his original world. Above all else, he needs a wide-open area and the perfect place for this is Misty Lake. Wil begins flying there to enact his experiment.

Halfway there, it begins raining. Then the wind starts picking up. The clouds get darker and a storm begins running through Gensokyo. Even though it's daytime, it looks as if the moon should be shining out. The dark clouds are completely blotting out the sky.

"How ominous." Wil notes to himself tonelessly. He has no idea how he's going to get his brain fixed. That's not a priority for him anyway.

He eventually reaches the center of the lake and begins reaching for the same darkness that dragged him away. To call it, he needs to interact with the gateway. The only way to do this is to create something from his Dark Matter that can do that.

After that he needs to call the same shadows with magic. It tears and ruins his body even further, but it's only a small price to pay for him. Right before he finishes everything, a voice interrupts him.

"So, this is it. Where's that hoodie of yours? You never part with it." He instantly turns around to see an individual walking on the turbulent water. A silver-haired individual with glasses covering his golden eyes. He knows this person well.

Morichika Rinnosuke. His best friend in Gensokyo. He's confused by his appearance here, so he stops funneling magic into the black tunnel.

Wil shakes his head. "What are you doing here? Actually, are the Outsiders alright?" Rinnosuke nods to the second question.

Wil is a little put off by seeing the one person he didn't want to see. This is the only person who even has a chance of convincing him of staying. He thought that his past would be enough to chase him off, but alas, his bad luck always works against him.

"Isn't it obvious?" He tightly grips his scabbard. "I'm here to stop you. You want to go home for some asinine reason and I'm going to keep you here for a more sensible one. You're not really an unlucky person. You just keep chasing after misery!" Rinnosuke declares that with an impudent point.

"I'm sorry? Could you just go away? Living in a fantasy just isn't for me." He looks downward.

"If you hate living in a fantasy, then stop chasing after it! All you desire is your pointless suffering for some melodramatic reason!" Rinnosuke attempts to rile Wil up. He wants to know his true motivations. He just can't accept the fact that Wil genuinely loves living awfully. That would make him nothing more than a masochist and a liar.

"I saw your smiles and grins whenever we just talked or did some foolish things together. I know that wasn't a lie. You're not the type of person to lie. Are you telling me that you truly want to go back?" He says waveringly. He then shakes his head with resolve. "Even if you want to…I definitely won't let you."

That's the core of the conflict between them. One wants to go home and the other doesn't want him to.

"I told you my reason for wanting to go back. Promises can't be broken. Now, I want to know your reason for trying to keep me here." A dull voice without any fluctuations answers Rinnosuke back. He immediately responds with no hesitation.

"It's never wrong to help a friend." The moment Rinnosuke draws his sword, a lightning strike touches down right behind him in the water. Part of the water immediately boils into vapor as the rest of the electricity dissipates through the lake.

"It's a good thing we aren't friends then." Wil completely and utterly rejected him.

But that won't stop Rinnosuke. A life as a storeowner wasn't completely boring, but it wasn't the exact type of spice he was looking for. Without employees the shop is nothing but a husk.

"Why won't you stop chasing after something I know you resent!" Rinnosuke poured out his grievances to Wil. There's only one thing he can say to that.

"Why would I stop now? I just have to overcome this one last obstacle in front of me." He clenches his fist tightly. "All I have to do is overcome you. That gives me hope of reclaiming my lost place. Like hell I'm gonna stop here…!" The only one who can change his mind is himself. No one else.

And that's not going to happen.

Wil hovers above the lake as he waits for the inevitable fight between them. Whether he kills Rinnosuke or not doesn't really affect him. His sense of joy, fear, and anger is all but gone at this point. The dark hole that Wil left unattended is laying on top of the surface of the lake.

"A thirty-minute Spell Card Battle." Rinnosuke lays down his terms much to Wil's surprise. He believed it was going to be a real death battle. "Winner must obey the loser as all battles go. This is the first time I'm doing this but…" Rinnosuke takes off his glasses and throws them into the lake revealing slitted eyes. "It's definitely worth it."

He swings his sword in an upward motion from left to right. A flying slash with multiple bullets aims for the flying figure.

Wil easily dodges it and lands right on the surface of the water. He digs his foot beneath the surface and kicks up. The result of the action forced a thousand-meter wave to rise. Rinnosuke swung his blade down to split the tidal wave and revealed a large number of hidden bullets in the water surrounding him on all sides

With swift movements, almost as if time was frozen, he cleanly parried every last one away from him. He raises his sword in the sky and recalls the days of the past that've become so blurry. He met an Oni, a God, and many more. The memory that's clearest of them all is of the one in front of him.

**"****Remembrance "Downfall of Memories.""**

Wil looks into the sky to view the rumbling clouds. The raindrops become rounder and filled with magic as they fall down harder. An unending torrential storm begins to pelt Wil's body at extreme speeds.

He raises his hand and forces his brain to do calculations it shouldn't be able to output at the moment. The tension of the mental cord finally gives way and something snaps.

A large swathe of Dark Matter comes to cover his body, and half of it splits towards Rinnosuke's location.

Because he held up Rinnosuke momentarily, Wil had a chance to use a spell card of his own. The light that he stole from the world. It's only right for him to be punished by it through events of terrible fortune.

**"****Dark Matter "Yatagarasu's Usurpation of Amaterasu.""**

A large pillar of light rose up from his body brought upon by the two shimmering wings behind him. The light burst through the dark clouds, allowing sunlight to shine on the two combatants on the lake. Danmaku spiraled out from the pillar towards Rinnosuke while he was dealing with a muck of Dark Matter.

Rinnosuke looked directly into Wil's almost-empty eyes and finally understood one thing. No matter how sporadic Wil's goal is, no matter how much his resolve wavers in seeing it through, no matter how much he wants to just breakdown and give up, he just won't. From seeing those eyes, Rinnosuke decided to stop holding back.

He swung his sword upwards and completely parted the clouds along with the all the Dark Matter and bullets coming towards him. Wil's spell card shattered from that.

Now completely new black clouds overshadowed the skies and divine lightning discharged off of them very rapidly. The hands that which hold the Kusanagi began to warp into a bestial form.

The form of scaled claws. The air has completely ionized.

"You finally decided to show that Youkai part of you? I'll take everything you can throw at me and overpower you." There's a lot of static in Wil's head. An immense amount of white noise that he's shutting out.

**"****Foreign Sign "Dark Matter.""**

**"****Origin Sign "8-Branched Giant Snake!"**

Even that static noise shattered and broke to pieces.

The shadow of the legendary Yamata-no-Orochi appeared behind Rinnosuke. No longer a shadow, for it has become real. Four of the heads spewed out countless Danmaku and the other four heads shot out searing lasers. The evil dragon released a terrifying miasma.

Even all that horrifying power was countered by an unknown amount of differing energies. Dark Matter's true strength lies in its variety; however, the ability is hampered due to the user having crippled mental faculties.

"Nothing more than an oversized snake. If you want to take me on, at least use a real dragon instead of this faker. I may be weaker, but that doesn't make you stronger in the slightest…!" An unnerving grin appeared on Wil's face.

Instead of having a large variety of different energies, Wil decided to substitute that with an absurd quantity of similar energies. The amount of it actually broke through Rinnosuke's spell card and destroyed it. There's still a lot more bullets aiming for the defenseless fighter.

Rinnosuke then uses his natural ability to analyze each particle of Dark Matter and intake its chaotic makeup into his brain. He swings his sword at the weakest point of it and dismantles the spell card with one slice much to Wil's surprise.

He didn't think that Rinnosuke's ability to analyze objects could be used to such an effect.

"Ahhh… Come on…just last a little bit longer." Wil starts clutching his head. The injury couldn't fully heal. It was impossible for him to do so. All he could do was a patchwork job. That won't make Rinnosuke go even a little bit easier on him.

Rinnosuke instantly appeared right in front of Wil and suddenly slammed his blade into his gut making him double over. The sword was blunted by magic, so it wouldn't split his body in half. Rinnosuke carried all the way through with the swing sending Wil skipping across the lake. He stops after traveling half a mile.

While he clutches his stomach, he reaches for a spell card. "Whatever it takes…" This spell card is special. Very different from the norm. Since this is going to be his last one, he has to make it count. There's no way he can allow himself to lose. He directly up at Rinnosuke who swings his sword downward.

The force of the swing smashes Wil's body through the lake. Right before it could smash his tender head in, he put both his wings up to dampen the blow.

"Is it over…? No, he wouldn't let it end like this." Rinnosuke waits for Wil to come back up, but then he feels the water move in an abnormal way. The water is moving in a spiral shape all the way down. A cataclysmic maelstrom is forming at the center with the storm above going out of control.

Rising from the whirlpool is an angelic figure with two shining wings and a halo above his head.

**"****The One Who Wields the Power of God." **

* * *

**Wil POV**

There's so much static. I don't know what lies behind it, so I just shut it away and ignore it. Shove it down and focus on the obstacle in front of me. I threw away this bond like I threw away my jacket. These days in Gensokyo are nothing more than yesterday's trash compared to my old place.

But even trash can be another man's treasure. I shake my head to get rid of intrusive thoughts. No need to think about things like that.

This spell card is truly special. The shrine maiden told me it was a Last Word and nothing more than that. I never tested it out, but it seems to be very handy. Temporarily recovering my brain injury fully and giving me complete control over my ability.

I transfigured my human body into one made completely out of Dark Matter perfectly, unlike the half-assed attempt I made against Yuuka. I raise both of my hands and begin the assault of Dark Matter.

"Rinnosuke." I call out to him with emotions running haywire. "I'm definitely going home and there's not a damn thing you can do about that! I refuse to live a fantastical lie in this place any longer. _I…I'm going back to my own reality!"_

He grits his teeth at that and holds his sword in a strange stance.

"More than anyone, you are definitely my best friend. Even though I only knew you for 8 months, that's something that can never be falsified! I'm going to open your eyes and force you to realize the folly of your actions. _This eastern paradise that even the gods love…could never be a lie!"_

Electricity begins arcing in a spastic motion off of Rinnosuke's body. The high voltage lightning vaporizes the water beneath him, spouting up massive amounts of steam. I fly up high into the sky, raise my right arm, and declare the start of my Last Word.

"Let there be light!" I recreate genesis on this land. Bright yellow light begins peeking through the dark clouds and through these lights, a pathway of countless bullets erupts from them. Rinnosuke uses the lightning to rip through some of the Danmaku, but what he can't destroy, he expertly dodges them with grace. **The first day.**

I destroy all of the clouds blocking the great blue sky. Blue bullets fall from the sky like heavenly rain blessing the soil. I wonder if Rinnosuke can dodge raindrops? **The second day.**

Without letting up I create even more bullets to take him out. I create a platform of land where Rinnosuke is standing and surround him in pillars. They shatter to reveal more bullets. I take a page out of my nemesis's book and create thorny plants to cut off my enemy. He chops through them and deflects all of the bullets into each other.

The explosion sends him flying back into another pillar that's hard enough to stop him from smashing through it. He definitely felt that one. Rinnosuke widens his eyes to see the entire lake rise into the sky. **The third day.**

Before I could collapse him under the weight of all the water, Rinnosuke cuts down and splits the water in half with a perfect arc that even cut through my entire body. I smile at him as I reform my body perfectly with no injuries at all, but that sparking slash erased any control I had over the water, so it fell all the way down in two halves.

I wave my hand and turn day into night. I copy the formula of the stars and create an abomination of fakes to rain down upon my opponent. All he can do is wait and bide his time to attack me, but even his attacks are worthless to this Dark Matter body. My victory is completely assured by this point.

After the rain of stars has ended, I drop a damn moon on him. His eyes widen to humorous proportions as he swings his sword eight times in an instant. He chopped it into eight pieces like a pizza much to my amusement. When he thought he cleared the path towards me, a miniature sun revealed itself right after the moon. **The fourth day.**

Rinnosuke hardened his eyes and ran two fingers across his blade. It drank his blood and he slashed diagonally along the surface of the sun to rip in half with a bolt of red plasma. The star exploded into a supernova. I wonder how many people have noticed this fight going on…?

"You know, you could just let me go and you won't get smacked over the head by the shrine maiden for making a mess." I try to bargain meaninglessly with him. I think I already know his answer though.

"You're staying here and getting a beating alongside me." He responds cockily. Yeah. That's the answer I should've predicted. I point beneath him to reveal the newly reformed water.

"You should watch below you." He stares straight at me to avoid the bait I laid for him. Fortunately, it was double-layered. A beast of the sea that should've never been there snatches him out of the sky. A white tentacle clasps on to his leg and drags him beneath the depths. His yelp was amusing.

I create flying monstrous beasts in the skies. Fantastical beasts that have no basis in reality. Griffons, Dragons, Phoenixes, and Manticores. I turned the time of day from night, to evening, then back to morning. **The fifth day.**

I take a break in the sky to rest my brain. Even temporarily healing doesn't take away the pain. It's nothing more than a stopgap measure. Actually, my brain's probably going to get screwed up even further once this Last Word runs out.

A darkened whirlpool begins forming beneath in the water before I could catch a breather. It begins rising up and it surrounds me before I could blink. I see Rinnosuke at the center of it.

**"****Forgotten "Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds!""**

A primordial power erupts from both him and the blade as they become one. His Youkai features have reached his forearms now. The whirlpool that's become a tornado of water has completely surrounded the lake. It's truly become a hurricane of biblical proportions.

The storm gathers in the katana that's become a longsword darkened by lightning. He swats out all of my creations in the sea and the sky and replaced it with nothing but lightning, rain, and wind.

"I don't even remember the last time I had to do this. I never wanted to do this again, but you've left me no choice Wil!" My head… I cover my empty socket with my hand to relieve myself of the pain.

Once I remove my hand, there is a fresh new eye made of Dark Matter. Only during this Last Word can I do something like this.

"I never forced you to do anything." I clap my hands and reveal countless clones of myself all charging towards him. Each time he cuts one down they explode. Each time one falls, more static builds up in my head. He's eventually going to tire himself out before me…yet why do I feel like I'm the one who's losing?

Who is this person in front of me again? That moment of complacency was all he needed to blast a thick bolt of plasma through the eye of the storm. I regained my mind and charged up a foreign plasma of my own to clash with him. I keep adding more to it, but it's still not being pushed back.

What was I doing again? Nothing but static and white noise. I lose the ability to see color. No, I think that I lost the ability to see color a long time ago. Everything is just shades of gray. Too much dullness.

This person in front of me…trying to overcome me. He reminds me so much of…of…who again? Who was it?! It was...it was...it was...!

The plasma eventually tears through mine and blasts my body all the way to the upper stratosphere. I fall down with angel feathers beginning to fall off of my wings. They're so translucent, like they're about to disappear any second now.

I splash down on the water, my body floating in place as I look straight at Rinnosuke. **The sixth day.**

I stand up one last time with a strange smile. "Rinnosuke. God created the world in six days and blessed it on the seventh. Do you want to relive genesis with me?" My wings disappear and my body returns to normal. The pain in my brain comes back even stronger than before and my replaced eye vanishes to reveal an empty socket.

"**The seventh day.**" The whole world becomes nothing but a shimmering white. I prepare for it to collapse on the both of us. I set it to explode as it begins to shake.

Clouds begin gathering in Rinnosuke's sword. He sheathes it as if to surrender.

My whole world was cut before I even realized it. My Last Word was severed in half.

"Yeah, I should've known this was the outcome. I just can't win at anything. Anything at all…" I fall to my knees in the water. Coincidentally right next to that dark hole that I still haven't fully completed yet. Rinnosuke walks towards me while staring exactly at what I'm looking at.

"A promise is a promise. What is your demand?" I give a derisive chuckle. Rinnosuke contemplates to himself.

"I want you to seek your own happiness. Not what someone told you, but what you truly want for yourself. If you want to go back…I won't stop you, but if you want to stay, then take my hand right here and now." He asks…no demands me to make my choice.

"You're not going to force me to stay?" I ask him confusedly.

"You're my friend." He says that as if it's all the answer he needs. Well, it might as well be all the answer I need. I tried to shatter all of my bonds before leaving, but one of them just couldn't fucking let go… All I can do is laugh helplessly.

I stand up without taking his hand nor going towards the hole. I look towards the sky in melancholy.

"You look like you're about to quote some dark poetry. Don't go all edgy on me yet." He tries to add some humor into my situation.

"I actually don't read enough to memorize lines from anything. Never had the time for that. The only things I do remember are funny things to bring at least some cheer into my life." I pause for a moment. "Hey...Rinnosuke." I was going to say something, but an apocalyptic roar tore through the air and reverberated through our ears.

Both of our eardrums shattered from the loud noise and the water around the dark hole spread out from it.

Even though our ears already burst, the sound of the roar quakes deep to our souls. Rinnosuke seems to be shivering from that. I've never felt anything like it, even during my time with the shrine maiden. If I could still feel fear, then I would be shaking as well. I grab Rinnosuke's shoulder and squeeze tightly to snap him out of it.

A monster's maw comes ripping through the dark hole, which has expanded extremely wide. The shadowy tendrils that dragged me to this world seem to be holding the beast back. I don't know what the hell I just summoned, but it's par for the course for something like this to happen.

"You know, I'm surprised we're the ones that have to save this damn place." I murmur a bit tiredly. Neither of us are definitely the kind of all-saving hero type.

"Wil?" He seems a bit put off by my choice in words. I turn to the monster, giving it the full attention it so deserves and desperately wants. It's screaming like a typical attention whore. I tilt my head to the left and smack it to knock the water out of my ears.

"Listen Rinnosuke. I'm going to go in there and stop that thing, and you're going to close this portal up. Just sap all the magic away from the zone and there will be nothing for the hole to sustain itself on. It's a void in reality that sustains itself on itself. Sounds weird, but you have to shut it down." While he's doing that, I'll hold this…thing off.

"But—" "No buts Rinny! It's crunch time now!" I jump and kick the beast's teeth in to prevent it from roaring again. Didn't work, but I at least knocked it back through the hole so I could jump in. Ignoring Rinny's shouts, I jump in the darkness and actually see where I was before I ended up in Gensokyo.

* * *

Everything is white. Nothing but white as far as the eye can see, besides that beast being held together by tentacles that are about to snap. I don't know how to describe this thing.

A dragon, a demon, an angel, and an abomination came together to create this thing. The main husk is a weird dragon sort of thing, but the rest is pretty damn eldritch. Kind of horrifying to look at really. Yet another mistake I have to correct.

"I'm gonna name you Unknown." I say with an irritating grin. The monster seemed to have loved my name for it judging by the way it roared with joy. The tendrils holding it back seemed to have snapped completely.

"What…?" It blitzed past me and turned around with an arm in its jaw. I can hear the sound of bone crunching and meat being pulped as it chews on my right arm. The sound of blood dripping right below my right shoulder clued me in to what happened.

"Honestly, can I at least hold you back for a little bit…? Don't make me a liar now Unknown Breaker." Yup, that's the new name for him. The unknown thing breaking my expectations and literally breaking reality around itself. That distorting effect on it is making it hard to see it. At least my blood painted on it created an outline to actually see the thing.

Don't know what that'll do considering the sheer speed it has.

Spears of Dark Matter erupt from inside it's body as it begins screaming, but it shattered the Dark Matter like glass. I didn't intend to sacrifice an arm, but hey, whatever works.

It wasn't screaming from pain, but from anger and rage it seems. I try to call upon more Dark Matter, but nothing is coming.

I can't even feel the trace of my ability anymore… "So, this is being up shit's creek without even a damn boat." Before I could even react, the monster swallowed me whole and distorted itself.

"This is not the inside of that monster at all." I say a bit weirded out by strange things written on the inside of walls. It probably is the inside, but I don't want to admit it at all. It's just too damn weird. I just wanted to go home and I go through an eldritch horror maze as the final stretch? I can even feel my body being dissolved. I let out a sigh.

"Wait… if I don't have my Dark Matter, then I can just use my magic without any danger." Why did it take me that long to realize that? I try to form magic, but it got disrupted, distorted and destroyed all in an instant. So, I create more and I create it much faster than the rate it's being degraded. I hold it up to the wall and begin drilling my way out.

I jump out of the hole and land on top of a screaming monster's head. I create my magic gun and aim it right at its eye, but the dizziness from blood loss and the shaking monster threw me off its body. My gun was destroyed as well. I stop rolling across the invisible floor and stand on one knee.

"This piece of shit needs to be purified and exorcised completely." I say with a resolved voice. Well, it seems I'm not making it home after all.

The barrier beneath us begins to fracture. "So, Rinnosuke actually did it after all. Knew I could count on you best buddy." I say with a strange pride welling up within me. I need to do my part now. Who knows how many lives this thing has taken.

At least let me do one good thing with my worthless life…!

The cracked floor beneath us gives way and shatters completely. The monster and I begin falling in whiteness with the creature chasing after my falling body. I twist my body upwards and hold my stump right up. A swirl of magic builds up from it. I intercept the dragon's maw from striking me with a burst of magic.

With the sound of everything shattering like glass, it all comes to an end.

I come to and hear some weird chanting voices. Firstly, I'm surprised that I'm alive. Secondly, where the hell am I?

I open my eyes to see some weird creatures in front of me. Alright, so I'm not home, but it doesn't look like Gensokyo either.

"Oh-ha-ha! Oh-ha-ha!" What the hell? Red imp-looking creatures wearing loincloths…and they are also hopping and spinning with pitchforks. This is either hell or Corruption of Champions. One of them I deserve, the other I truly don't.

I let out a deep sigh filled with exhaustion. "Alright, I can work with this." No I can't!

**AN: Would you believe me if I told you that coming up with spell card names for Rinnosuke was the reason why this took a while to get dropped? **

**Laptop broke down and I had some stuff to do. Also flipped a coin for where Wil would end up. Both options suck for him. Hope you enjoy.**


	9. The Wizard and the Dragon

Chapter 9

I sit up and groan to myself. The impish creatures have noticed my awakening. They stay silent as we stare at each other in this red place. The ground is red, the rock formations are red, and the sky is purple. I already miss my hoodie.

There's a lot of strange things going on here. It's almost like I just ended up in another part of Gensokyo; however, the sky seems to disagree with that assumption. These short red goblin guys…the fact that they are all male tells me that I'm not in Gensokyo.

So much strange shit. They're content to just stay still and watch me while I try to collect myself. Well, at least I have my arm and eye back…? What a strange, but welcome surprise. At least my sleeve has been reattached. It would be ridiculously stupid to wander about with a missing sleeve on my right arm.

I fully sit up with cross legs as I analyze the strange beings before me. "So…do you know where I am?" My question seems to have confused them based on the way they all tilted their heads in unison like that. It's actually kind of endearing the way they move in sync like that.

"Strange being not know where he is?" The tallest one, which isn't that tall at all, decides to speak to me. He barely stands above my head while I'm sitting up. I guess he's the leader. I look upon him with dispassionate eyes as I try to wring some information from him.

"Yeah, I'm lost. You know where I am buddy?" Judging by the way their eyes light up when I ask them a simple question, they've probably never talked to a normal human such as myself. I guess if they ask questions, then I can indulge them.

"Yes! Yes! You are in the great ruins. The Ruins of Vina." I raise my brows questionably. That tells me absolutely nothing. "It's very mysterious. A very mysterious place in Makai it is." Makai? The hell is that?

Alright, so I'm not in Gensokyo anymore. I've got that confirmation. Also, the way he said the name of this place seems a bit weird. It almost seems like he was warning me about something? Don't know specifically. Wasn't really that good at reading people.

"What kind of Demon are you? Or could you be a Youkai?" They do have Youkai in this place. It's definitely not Gensokyo, but could it be close by, or something like that? Also, the distinction between Demon and Youkai is bothering me quite a lot. Aren't they the same thing? I guess I was wrong.

"Nah, nothing that interesting. I'm just your average, garden-variety human that you can pluck from any corner of the Earth." I say with an easygoing smile. I may be a bit careless in meeting these strange beings that I have no info on, but I can at least trust them to be a bit friendly. They haven't attacked or shown any hostility.

"Human? What's that?" Are humans nonexistent here? That doesn't sound right. We're like cockroaches who try to go everywhere and get in everything. I'll go out on a limb and just assume that there are humans here, but these guys just haven't met them.

"Humans are like me." I give them a non-answer. How does one even try to answer that question though? How do you even describe a human? Physically? Metaphorically? Biologically…wait that's the same thing as physically.

Now that I think back on our meeting, they were doing some ritualistic dance over my resting body. I feel like I should question them on this.

"By the way…" They perk up instantly. Do they really like talking with foreigners that much, or do they not get any visitors? "What was with the pitchfork dance earlier?" It did give me some nostalgic memories of Dark Souls. Ah yes, the channeler's trident. The best of times and the worst of times I guess.

"Ah!" It seems the main speaker remembered. "We thought you died, so we prepared a feast." Come again? "Hunger drives us to eat. We thought you were food, but then you wake up and startle us!" Okay. I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that.

The big question is…what do I do now? I tried to head home, but that didn't work out for me at all. I can't even try to go home anymore because I lost my Dark Matter ability. All because of that stupid fugly ass dragon!

I run my hands through my scalp in frustration. Home…home… What the hell does that even mean anymore?! Home is where the heart is, so why do I not feel any heart towards going back to my own Earth? Am I really that resentful of everything that happened to me? No, that's not it.

That can't be it. "Live my life to the fullest… What does that even mean?" I mutter to myself. I always thought it was just living as I always do. For me, living to the fullest is just surviving. I can't gain any more than that, and I try not to lose any more than that.

"Strange being speaks to himself. Strange like feathered person?" The oddly adorable imp tilts his head as he sees me contemplating. Ah, whatever. Might as well explore this place. I like seeing new places after all.

"People like to talk about themselves. Actually, forget about that. Do you know where all the scary and fun places are?" Their vocabulary seems limited, so I have to limit that myself. It's odd speaking like a child. I haven't been one in a while. What is it they call it again…an inner child! It's telling me to go back to Gensokyo, but I want to go back home.

I'll figure out this mess later. I stand up and shake off all of the cobwebs in my head.

"Scary places are to the south and east. Scary feather man in scary area. Speaks to himself a lot. Nothing can go to east." I don't want to get involved with scary feather men. What if he pisses on me like Kyouma did? East sounds like a good direction to go. I'm also interested by what he said about it.

Nothing can go there?

"Anything else concerning?" The red imp nods his head viciously.

"Watch out for blue people. Bad bad people." That's really racist. Just because they're blue, they're bad people? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that they have skirmishes between each other. Red and blue imps. Red versus Blue…

"Alright I gotcha." I bring up my hand to cover a yawn. I'm tired, but I'm not hungry or cold. I think I can drag my body across this place without worry. I look up at the sky to determine where the cardinal directions are, but lo and behold, there is no sun or moon in the sky. I've truly wandered into a shithole.

I let out a sigh and choose a direction to walk into randomly. I hope it's east.

"Wait stranger!" The red leader calls out to me with cheer. I turn around to match his cheer with tiredness. "Would you like to come to our camp?" Let's see…go to a camp with potentially friendly people and risk getting eaten, or picking a random direction and risk running into a super strong boss monster that's going to dust me.

"Alright, lead the way." I follow behind the group of marching imps. I'm walking all the way behind them at the back of the group. I still don't feel that comfortable around them just because of how they look. Call me shallow, but it just feels strange to me. Everything has been feeling a little bit off since I woke up actually. Dunno what's causing it though. I guess I can chalk it up to me losing my Dark Matter.

We eventually make our way to a field of tents and campfires. One of the imps in front of me turns around and hands me an apple. A purple one. I look at it with extreme distaste. I love apples, but I love the normal ones that are red and juicy. Not the ones that are the color of eggplants.

"It's good." He says curtly. I guess this one doesn't like speaking. I look at the apple again and hesitantly bite into it. It's surprisingly not all that bad, though it doesn't really taste like an apple. It's bitter instead of sweet. It still has the crunchiness to it though, which is satisfactory.

I need to add this to my palate of apple-based foods now. Before long, I bit all the way around the apple until it's nothing but the core.

This is actually a good chance to test out magic. I lost one thing, but gained something else that I can freely use. Let's see…burn. Ah-ha! It actually did work. This apple is nothing but burnt dust in the wind now. No more worrying about a ridiculous backlash of magic tearing my body apart. I only had to give up a really convenient and strong power that can get me home!

Not worth.

I look up to see a lot of imps looking at what I just did in wonder. Whoops.

"Ah…I forgot to mention that I'm a wizard. Or mage, or magician, or however you guys call it." This is kind of awkward with them all staring at me. Luckily the leader of them all brought his palms together loudly to get everyone attention. He then stood next to me, reaching up to my thighs.

"This is new friend of the tribe!" He introduced me. I never did give them my name now did I? Ah well. Not like it matters anyway. I don't know the name of these imps anyway. I just named them leader and red guys in my head.

The horde of imps descend into raucous cheer from bringing back a lot of food. Probably why one of them was willing to part with an apple. They seem to be a very lively group of partygoers. They're doing nothing but dancing and eating.

I walk up to that same gruff imp and tap his shoulder.

"Where is east?" He looks at me for a moment and then points towards that direction. I leave the tribal camp without anyone knowing and walk across the red plains. I whistle a classic sea shanty, The Drunken Sailor. This should keep me distracted for who knows how long I have to walk.

* * *

**Rinnosuke POV**

He's gone. Even with all the power I had, I still couldn't stop him from leaving. I so desperately wanted to force him to stay, but I left it all up to him. Then that…thing roared through that portal and he went through it to stop it.

In the end, it was all left up to me to clean his mess. I had to seal that portal and cut him off from ever returning. It was me, not him who sent him out of Gensokyo. How ironic. I wanted him to stay, but I gave him exactly what he wanted.

Ever since he left, I've been getting more and more costumers at more frequent intervals. Was his misfortune actually the thing that was keeping them away? Was it a good thing for him to have left? I shake my head and kick out all intrusive thoughts. I can't think like that. Bad luck or not, he was still an important friend. There's still a large influx of customers coming though. I wonder what caused it?

Wil advertised for me, but they never came. Now he left, they're starting to visit and take interest in my merchandise?

"That face of yours will scare away your potential customers." I look up to see a smiling shrine maiden. I wish I had the energy to smile like that. I let out a sigh and put my book down. I don't even have the motivation to read that much.

"What is it Miss Reimu?" Are you actually going to buy something this time?

"I came to thank you for bringing back all those Outsiders. I never had the chance to before." Ah. That. I fully turn my attention towards her for this conversation.

"What are you going to do about the perpetrator?" At this, a nasty look appeared on her face. I really fear for who's on the receiving end of that glare. By that, I fear for miss Kazami. She's probably going to get exterminated. Wil would be content if he heard that.

I let out another sigh.

"I'm not going to do anything to her even though I so badly want to exterminate her." My head whips up in shock and confusion.

"Why? She really went over the line for this one. No one would object to her being exterminated by this point." The capture and frankly obscene torture of those Outsiders should warrant death, so what changed her mind?

"I went to that sunflower garden to see them all wilted." What?! "When I went to face the Youkai, I couldn't even muster up the energy to feel righteous anger at her. She looked completely dead on the inside. I don't think she's going to do anything for a long time." She let out a sigh and explained her reasoning.

Kazami looked like that? She would also never let her sunflowers even weather the tiniest bit of damage, and they all wilted like that? Something extremely wrong is going on.

"But enough about that, are you alright? You haven't been looking good for a while. You've been moody ever since last week when that storm ran through all of Gensokyo." Sounds like she's getting a bit suspicious. "Also, where did that troublesome friend of yours run off to?" She crosses her arms and looks around the store.

I let out a deep sigh and rest my head on my arms. "He went back home. He finally found a way and did it. I don't know anything about that storm though. Did it destroy anything important?" Uh-oh. She's gripping that stick with fury in her eyes.

"It destroyed my shrine! All of it! I even had to get help to fix up Misty Lake! I'm poor and my home is still being repaired! Go ahead and laugh at me already!" Wil, I wish you were here. Please come and deal with this poor child polluting my shop.

So, you could take her wrath in my place. I mean, it's partly my fault, but he also shares some of the blame. He's probably home right now…wallowing in his misery, and enjoying it. I tightly grip the countertop and it starts creaking under the strain of my fingers.

"…And all of those stupid Youkai were saying that the lake looked like this or that! They couldn't actually remember, so I had to get Yukari, and she was doing her stupid mysterious stuff where she puts the fan in front of her face! Does she even realize how stupid that looks!" Wow…I didn't expect this shrine maiden to actually be that mad.

And…did she just call Yukari stupid? Wil's influence is too corrupting for someone like her. He even has her making fun of Yukari's tendencies with her fan. I'm truly amazed by Wil's foul mouth being inherited by the shrine maiden of all people. Hopefully she didn't inherit all of it.

I can never let her know that it was me who caused that big mess, but I don't feel like throwing Wil under the bus. All I can do is hold on to a pointless and faint hope that he may return someday.

"If I ever see that damn angel again…I'm going to force him to work permanently." She spat out a horrifying fate. I still hope Wil comes back. "Yes! That's perfect!" She's getting increasingly deranged. "Every time the Youkai cause a mess, he can just fix everything right up. He's good at that." Now she's laughing in my shop like a maniac.

"I think the stress is getting to you a little bit. Maybe you should rest?" I offer a reasonable solution to her fraying mind.

"No way! I'm the shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine. I'm going to destress by beating up troublemaking Youkai!" She flies off with pride in her voice. No matter how reasonable something is, it doesn't work on a person that is unreasonable to begin with.

Wil please don't come back, and if you do, avoid the shrine maiden at all costs. Well, time to get back to my reading and waiting for customers.

Right after miss Reimu left, a particular gap Youkai made her way in my holy shop with her gaps. I stare at her with trepidation. First the shrine maiden and now her… I don't think this will end well.

"You and Wil caused a huge mess at Misty Lake." She says airily. Of course, she knows all about it. Is there anything she doesn't know? Probably some things about Wil, but that's not important right now!

"Yes, I know. What about it?" I push up my glasses because they started to slip down from sweat. She's smiling at me.

"It would be a shame…if the shrine maiden knew who to direct her anger at." Fuck! I barely keep my composure to not utter such vulgar words in my sanctuary, but I desperately want to. The only thing that shows my well-deserved fear is a bit of sweat on my back.

"And…? Is there something you want from me?" I'm cutting right to the point. She'll only threaten someone like this if she wants something.

"Oh nothing." She giggles. That means it's something I don't want to give. "Just a tiny favor in the future." She shows me a beaming smile. That's it, I'm suiciding to miss Reimu right now. I'm going to drag this great evil to the grave with me. A worthy sacrifice as Wil would call it.

"The sudden storm also ruined a certain Mansion. The residents there are fairly strong. I could point them to your shop for the reason behind it's destruction." Double fuck! She doesn't know about the time I raided alongside Wil. I made sure of that.

But there's a chance that she can pick apart my reactions and come to a dangerous conclusion. "So?" I won't give in.

"It's just a small favor. Would you do it for little ol' me?" I roll that thought around in my head. Just a single, tiny favor…

"Fine. I'll accept this blackmail worthy of the ultimate extortionist." I manage to say that without choking on my words. The audacity of this woman! Making me do things without getting paid?! And she already left!

I need to relax with a nice reading.

Before I could pick up the book, a bell rang. A familiar maid opens the door to my shop, much to my mounting horror and dread.

"Excuse me, but I have reason to believe that this store has come into possession of my mistress's property. She would like them back." That was a demand. A demand that they would take some of my antiques without paying. I narrow my eyes at this blatant affront to my pride.

"When people enter a store, they are supposed to buy the merchandise. Not take them. I don't think your mistress would like to be known as a thief, correct?" It's a good thing that the special lantern is right next to me at this moment.

The maid narrows her eyes. "It would be a shame if the store got damaged while I had to retrieve my mistress's property." Holding my store as hostage…? I grit my teeth in frustration. I blame Wil so much for this. He took advantage of my moment of weakness and forced me to steal from that mansion.

I've had it with people entering my store and not buying anything.

Wil, your bad luck rubbed off on me! If I ever see you, you better pray that I don't!

* * *

**Wil POV**

I blame Rinny so much for this. He better pray that I never see him again. My bad luck was never this awful. Before it was more like a storm that didn't care about the target and just swept everything up. Now it feels like everything has centered on me. I feel like a lightning rod instead of a hurricane now.

"You food! Give us nourishment!" I'm completely surrounded by the blue man group. This all started with just a simple walk. I was testing out magic and whistling while heading towards the east. All the special stuff that magic can do, like lightning, water, fire, and all that stuff is accessible. I did learn that I have a hilariously poor affinity to earth and wind. All that simple stuff.

I can cause a stone to roll and a breeze to flow around me.

After learning my affinities, I foolishly decided to test out magic on the walk. Never cast and walk at the same time. I broke the forbidden taboo and a stupid blue imp walked in the middle of my experiment, like a handicapped barracuda swimming in the mouth of a shark because it saw a gleaming object.

Of course, I blasted him away with a nice electrical discharge. He ran off and alerted his friends. I switched to water right before they decided to get in front of me and they got drowned out. Then they got more people and turned into black imps without me even paying attention to what I was doing.

Now, it feels like I got the whole damn tribe on me. I made sure there was no one in distance when I casted my magic! But then, they somehow materialized right in front of me when I was testing it out! It was supposed to be a nice journey without causing any trouble.

Why?! Why are they so stupid? Why can't they leave me alone? I just want to head east and explore this Makai. So, I made my frustration clear.

"Why are you guys so retarded?! I was just testing out magic and then you guys get in the way?! Who the hell even does that?! Who sired you idiots?! Tell me right now. I need to know the identity of the dumbass who sired you idiots!" I spewed out my sheer annoyance with them.

"It's me." A taller blue man comes out from behind them. Still a midget though. He would normal if it wasn't for the strange horns coming out of his head and his blue skin. He actually looks like a tried-and-true demon. Let's see if his intelligence matches up to his looks.

"Are you retarded?!" He looks completely baffled by my question and I don't know why. I asked a really reasonable question due to the unreasonable actions of his kids. Also…who's the damn mother?! She must be as loose as a sewer with all the kids she spewed out.

"You insolent gnat! You attacked my tribe! We will carve you up and serve you for dinner." A nasty grin makes its way on his face.

"I didn't attack them though? They jumped in the way of my practice. You're shorter than me anyway, so you're a dust mite then." He opens his mouth to probably let out a vapid retort, but I interrupt him.

"No, don't say anything. I don't want to hear it at this point. I've gotten some grasp over some techniques and I've been itching to test them out. I also have a lot of frustration bottled up from green-haired bitches and silver-haired interlopers." I think to myself as the blue demon in front of me realizes how unreasonable I've just become. My eye is actually twitching from annoyance.

I notice one of the little imps charging something. A spear of water flies out of his hands towards my direction. I tilt my head to barely avoid it spearing through my recovered left eye. I don't want to lose it again.

"I see why your tribe's full of dumbasses now. You provoke everything in sight, it's a wonder why you haven't been dusted yet. It would've been so nice if we could have just settled this but…" I let out a sigh in irritation. I look down on these idiots and prepare to crush them.

"You locked yourselves on a one-way road." I'm super toxic and these guys in front of me share the blame.

* * *

I feel so liberated right now. All that deep-seated negativity rooted in me has been all but dispersed now. Beating people up really is cathartic. I guess Reimu was right after all… I laugh quietly to myself in the center of the half-dead group.

I learned really quickly that there are no spell card rules here. It's all or nothing. Life or death. I'm not going to kill though. I completely refuse to kill others. Not again. There's nothing preventing me from beating the shit out of hostiles until they cease being hostile, so that's an easy way out.

The slightly bigger-but-still-small guy did get a good hit on me though. A nice little blue concussive ball hit me in the kidney extremely hard. I lift up my shirt to see extensive bruising on the area. I'll just heal that up nice and quick. Just like that.

I would feel a little guilty for me just letting off all of that steam on them, but it was kind of their fault to begin with.

They even wanted to eat me! The big boss dude cursed me out once he felt all that voltage run through his nerves. Now he's nothing but a drooling mess. The rest got charred black though. Rinnosuke manipulating electricity and Mokou manipulating fire gives me a few ideas. All I can do with water is toss it around gracelessly.

But enough about that. Time to continue eastward. From what I recall, the boss red imp said that nothing can go there. He didn't really describe it, but that was still an extremely odd choice of words even for one that has a limited vocabulary as him.

That could mean many things. For example, there could be a superpowered guard that'll paste me across the ground if I breathe in his direction. There could be a barrier that blocks things from entering. No way to know unless I go there for myself and check.

I'm also partly going there to take my mind off of my ultimate decision: whether to slink back to Gensokyo like a regretful dog, or stick to my guns and head back home. I look to the sky to see nothing but purple mist obscuring everything.

If there is a sun or a moon, I can't see it at all through that mist. The deeper east I go, the redder the mist becomes. It loses that blue hue to it and becomes oversaturated with red. Nearly the color of blood, except far more rusted.

I can finally see why this place is called the Ruins of Vina. There's a lot of ruined pillars and ancient buildings that are cracked and decayed. The age is extremely visible. It's a wonder that they haven't turned to dust yet. The best way to describe these buildings are like those greek buildings that are shown in history books.

With all those pillars, cracks and all. I take a little detour and make my way through all of the houses. It looks like they've been recently used with all the food and tents hanging around here though.

Nice! There's even some food here. I won't take a lot. Just enough to stave off the hunger. Let's see...about three apples should do quite nicely. I put two in my pockets and hold one in my hand.

I take a bite out of the purple, bitter apple. I think I should really be considering whether or not I actually want to head home. I can't afford to be indecisive about this. There's so much more happiness for me if I go back to Gensokyo, but there's also the chance that I could be throwing away potential happiness back home.

I really need to review my dad's last words.

Live my life to the fullest… He said that and I'm trying my best to follow through with his words. Why is it such a pain to think about complicated things? Was I even living my life to the fullest back home? I dedicated everything to returning there, so there must've been something that I saw worthwhile.

Just what did I see at home? Home is where the heart is, so is my heart there? It was boring, dull, repetitive, misfortunate, ugly, and an overall worthless life for me. Something snapped me out of my thoughts.

"A ravine?" It literally feels like I shouldn't go any closer than this. Almost as if I'm going to enter the mouth of a hungry beast. Nothing that's completely stopping me though. I continue to walk forward and then I hit something that feels like a wall. It gave out after a bit and I passed through it.

"Could that have been it?" I walk deeper through the ravine as it continues to get narrower. That was probably keeping the imps from exploring this little piece of heaven here. I'm feeling a little dread exploring this place. I'm also feeling a little excited for being the first to actually enter.

After walking deep enough, I come across a large lake. Thankfully, it looks like normal water that's safe enough to consume. I cup my hands and take gulps of fresh water to sate my thirst. "Ah damn, I'm feeling so much better already." After wiping my lips with my sleeve, I walk around the lake and go to the other side.

"How the hell did I miss that?!" I whisper loudly to myself. I don't want to wake up that extremely large serpent after all! I'm feeling a mixture of dread and joy right now. I've never seen such a snake before.

To further my dread, the big thing decides to open its large yellow eyes at me. I crouch low in preparation to run off like a bat out of hell, but it opens its mouth and shatters my awe of it.

"Who the fuck are you?!" A raspy growl entered my ears. Did that big-ass snake just swear at me? I let out of a cough to clear my throat. No need to get the snake angry at me. I don't want to get swallowed whole again. Vore isn't my fetish no matter how many times I become a victim of it.

"I'm Wil. Your friendly neighborhood magic man!" I cheerfully greet the ridiculously sized serpent. Now that I fully look at him, he raises my uncanny valley senses. The scales look like they've been inverted and he has a weirdly dark-green scaled body with streaks of red all over him. Some pretty badass horns on it though.

Wait, that's blood. The large wings that are trying to blend into his body have large holes poked into them. There's no way he can fly with them. Looking even closer, injuries are noticeable. Cracked spikes on his spine and one of the branched horns look like it was nearly snapped off.

"How the fuck did you get here?" Rude.

"I walked like any sensible person would." The snake opens its mouth as if to yawn, but it let out an earsplitting roar. After hearing the Unknown Breaker, nothing can be considered loud ever again. Something like this can only give me a minor headache.

"Don't fuck with this dragon!" A dragon? "I sealed this place off. It should last one hundred years. There's still one year left, so how did you get in here!" He put up the barrier? A serpent that calls itself a dragon. It doesn't look like an eastern-styled one though.

"So…you put up a barrier to hide yourself because of some sort of injury. You're too worried to go out because you're afraid of dying. Now that I look at it, your eyes are looking quite misty and dull." It's like an animal making themselves out to be scarier than they actually are.

My words seemed to have calmed him down a little strange enough. "I'm not scared. I'm just worried that my power will crush the innocents who bask in my great presence." A being that bullshits like this is commendable. He still wants an answer though.

"I actually just walked through a barrier of some sorts. It gave way and I continued onwards. Curiosity drove me here and I found you." A big dragon that speaks like a delinquent.

"So, it's fate then." The dragon nods its large head. It sounds so sure of itself, but I never believed in fate. Although if it does exist, then I'm curious about my bad luck…

"What exactly are you?" He keeps asking me questions without giving me a chance to ask some of my own. Kind of annoying, but I don't want this guy to slap me with his tail.

"I'm just your average human you can find anywhere. Nothing more, nothing less. What's your name big guy?"

"Of course, I'm big. I'm a big scary dragon after all!" Please don't laugh that loud. You're hurting my ears. "One of my friend's much bigger though. I'm Níðhöggr! The dragon that gnaws at the roots of the World Tree!" What. "Listen to my name and tremble in fear human!" I'm sorry what?

"I'm going to take a guess, but could your friend be that serpent that wraps around the world, Jörmungandr?" He nods his head in pride. All I can feel is awe.

This guy isn't just any dragon that you can find anywhere. Actually, you can't just find them anywhere, but that's beside the point! This guy is a real mythological dragon. A real monster that could probably destroy Makai. What injured him like this?!

"My friend's real big, but don't worry about him. He's nothing but a big pussy! I'm the strongest! Wahahaha!" I'm dealing with another Cirno. I can't.

"What? Where are you going? Wait, don't leave!" I'm walking out of this place. I guess I'll head south to the scary feather man now. "Please, I haven't talked to anyone for ninety-nine years!" That's one of the most depressing things that I've heard in my life. And I've seen and heard a lot of depressing things. For example, whenever I look into the mirror.

He sounds so pitiful that I walked back towards him without even noticing. "What?! Don't look at me like that! This great dragon doesn't need your pity! Just…stay for a bit maybe?" I let out a deep breath that I didn't know I was holding.

This guy has a lot of power, but he isn't even scary at all. Nothing but a lonely dragon who secluded himself from the world. "Alright Nid, tell me about your majestic self." I decide to stay and convince him to tell me about himself. I plop myself down right in front of his body.

Just me calling him majestic was enough for him to ignore my nickname and make him launch on a tirade about his great self. I just sit here and offer some small words to his accomplishments. He's the one doing the most of the talking, but it's interesting to hear a story like this. I am extremely unfamiliar with Norse legends in the first place, so there's not much I can contribute.

"And that's how I replaced Fafnir as the biggest, baddest, and most badass Dragon of the group. Svafnir and Ofnir can go suck a fat one!" I grin a little bit. This was just the break I needed.

"So, you were the most badass? Then why did you get tangled in the roots of Yggdrasil then?" He made a strange choking sound.

"I wasn't the one who got tangled in the roots. The roots were the ones that got tangled with me!" There's literally no difference in what you just said versus what I just said.

"Whatever you say. What are you waiting a year here for anyways?" Could it be the length it takes for his injury to heal?

The dragon looks sheepish if that's even possible. "Ah…well you know. When you wait for something to grow, you need to wait for it to get nice and ripe for consumption." I can't believe this guy. What should I even be expecting from this brash and unpredictable dragon anymore?

"What about your injury then?" He adopts another look of pride.

"Battle scars from a great battle that shook the very fabrics of the universe! My wings were ripped and my organs shattered, but I still came out on top. I'm still healing from that great battle. I don't know if I'll ever heal." He got a little somber towards the end.

Wait, great battle? Ragnarok? "I see…and what about your scales? You never mentioned them. I'm a bit curious at what could have inverted his scales like that. It's very disturbing to look at.

"I tried putting up a barrier for the first time." He didn't elaborate on that. I pat his giant body.

"It's okay, we all make mistakes at some points in our lives. What's important is that we learn from them and move past them." I attempt to comfort him.

"I didn't make a mistake! It was the barrier's fault!" Alright then.

"Enough about me! Tell me about you!" Curious about me of all people? There's nothing really noteworthy to say though… How should I start off?

"I'm Wil. Just an average human that learned some magic. Oh, I'm also pretty unlucky. Nice and interesting, right?" The dragon waits with bated breath for more, but I stop right there without saying anything else. Safe to say that he's pretty disappointed.

"Eh? Is that it? That's boring! Tell me some more. I know you have some awesome stories as well. From one badass to another, I can recognize a fellow badass. Tell me your badass stories!" This dragon likes asses too much. I can respect that. I'm an ass man myself.

"You want some badass stories? Alright then. Open your ears and listen well. This is the story of Wil's journey through Gensokyo!" I told him everything with glee. From me arriving to Gensokyo all the way to me leaving. He was a very emotive dragon. He laughed at funny parts and I thought I heard some sniffles towards the end.

He also doesn't like Yukari, but that may be because of the way I described her. She is a manipulative witch after all. I don't trust her as far as I can throw this dragon. And I can't lift him. I can't think of one good person who carries around a fan. That's just super sketchy.

"What an amazing eight months. You truly are a badass! I knew it!" I'm not a badass. Just a sadass and an unlucky ass.

"Gensokyo sounds like a cool place. Might visit it in a year." I'm imagining the sheer nerves that everyone will get from seeing a huge ass serpent crawl around in Gensokyo. That's definitely going to cause an incident. This will be my goodbye prank then.

"That's a good idea. You should absolutely do that! There's a lot of fun to be had in Gensokyo. A lot of nice people as well. It's truly a paradise, you know?" And I threw that away…

"This has truly been an entertaining day! I'll give you any reward you so desire! Tell me your deepest desire. Would you like to become a badass on the level of myself?! I can grant that!" My deepest desire? Do I even have any desires?

"End world hunger." That completely stumped the dragon. "If not, then world peace." He looks immensely annoyed at me.

"The first one shouldn't be a problem. There's already enough food in the world for world hunger to not exist." Shit. "World peace is actually impossible though." I don't actually believe that.

"Even if world peace is impossible, aren't impossible dreams the most badass? Imagine climbing the tallest peak and seeing that you aren't even a tenth of the way towards the top of the real tallest peak." His nostrils flared up. "You climb all the way to that highest peak and you see that you can even go above the clouds and later touch the stars. Whaddya think?" His eyes shine.

"Yes! You're absolutely right! Those impossible dreams that you chase over the horizon for are truly the greatest! Those dreams that can't be put on the level of mere desires and granted like what a foolish Djinn would try to do!" Holy hell, way to throw shade at Djinns.

That was also an extremely roundabout way of saying that he can't do it. Is there anything else I can think of? He probably can't grant my desire of going home, but could there be something else he can do?

"Then how about a favor you can do for me in the future. Any time and any place?" That sounds like a reasonable deal.

"Perfect! You got yourself a deal, whelp! You did not just call me a puppy.

"Well, if that's all you got?" I stand up and prepare to leave. "There's still more of Makai to explore. I'll see you…" Later? Never again? Who knows?

"Wait! I don't want to be stuck here for a year without sharing my badass tales to anyone! I haven't even told you a thousandth of my life!" Dread inches down my back. I really don't want to hear his life story, but I don't want to abandon someone to solitude. I cover my face in my hands in anguish.

"Fine. I'll come visit here from time to time." I let out a yawn. "Actually, I may just decide to sleep here tonight." I hope I made the dragon satisfied.

"That's good. It's past midnight. The perfect time to sleep because you wake up in the afternoon. Sleeping in the afternoon is the best feeling!" This lazy dragon…and did he just say it was midnight? How can you even tell?! The purple mist in the sky obscures everything!

You know what? I'm not going to even think about it. I'm going to lay down and sleep here. All while ignoring the dragon's complaints at me not being a badass for not staying up later and chatting with him through the night.

Just sleep on this comfy ground. This cold, hard ground with bumps shifting into my back. Very comfortable.

I dream of nothing but senseless screaming and yelling and roaring and whatever adjectives that can be used to describe a senseless noise made by something. After waking up from that, I go right back to sleep. I then dream again of thorny vines piercing and ripping through my body with a laughing Yuuka at the center of it all. It was already morning. I go back to sleep a third time and dream of an assortment of dead bodies telling me it's my fault. How wonderful. I let out a shaky breath.

I didn't get a healthy sleep that night. I woke up before the dragon unsurprisingly, but I still feel extremely tired.

I love it when I can still here the screams of that abomination of a dragon even in my dreams. That's actually not even a dream at this point. That ugly thing can best be described as a nightmare. I sit up and look at the dragon sleeping peacefully without worrying about being woken up by anything. I immediately become irritated and envious of it.

I also love it when I can still feel plants running through my body. Feels great. This dragon dares to snore right next to me?

"If I can't get a good night sleep, then you can't either." I tap its body. It didn't even budge. Probably because it couldn't even feel it. I contemplate going up to its snout and shoot streams of water up its nose, but then reason comes to my sleep-addled mind.

Instead of being grumpy, I decide to walk over to the lake and practice my magic. I have no idea where to begin to fly using magic, so the next best thing is learning how to walk on water with magic instead of Dark Matter. It's time to be Jesus instead of God.

Jesus was always cooler than God anyways. He was the first JoJo after all. I coat my foot in magic and step into the lake with trepidation. It feels like I can stand on it, so I put my weight on my legs and fall through the freezing cold water. I make a loud splash that still didn't wake up the dragon, but it crushed all of my hopes from going back to sleep.

I swim back up and stand on land like humans are meant to. I dry myself off with a basic application of fire magic. Just using the heat of it.

I can't just focus on practicing on water-walking. I also have to focus on my other stuff. Can't call them spells because it's just me swinging magic across haphazardly and mimicking those who are so much better than me. Whenever I used magic when I still had my Esper ability, I just did it and whatever stuck was the result. If it works, then why should I try to change it. That's just my style.

Also can't forget my trusty magic gun that likes to spawn stakes. Sadly, there's no place to actually test it out on and it's lethal, so I won't really be focusing on that.

I lose the track of time and that haze of practicing is interrupted by the loud yawn of a dragon. Its eyes dart back and forth lazily before spotting me. He lights up and slithers right up to the lake at speeds not befitting of its body. Nid crawls right into the lake and submerges his entire body beneath it. I look down into the water.

"He uses it to bathe...and I drank out of it earlier." How did I not realize this? I almost just want to discharge electricity into this lake for revenge, but it was my idiocy for not realizing that a huge lake such as this wasn't occupied by anything.

Nid's head peeks out from the water and he rests it on the land with a very comfortable expression on his face. He turns to me with a strange smile on his face. "So, you come here often?" Does he think he's cute or he's being funny? Cause that's not adorable in the slightest. The blank expression on my face conveyed that feeling extensively.

"Come on bro! Every proper badass must have pickup lines to pick up the ladies, you know? Charm the ladies right out of their skirts and leave yourself in your hearts!" A questioning look appears on my face.

"What are you talking about? I don't have time for romance or anything like that and even if I did, no one would be interested in me. Above all else, I'm not really that interested in girls in the first place.

"You into guys? Don't worry, I don't judge. Badasses must be accepting of everything and especially accepting of their friends." He considers me his friend? No, wait! I have to dissuade him of a dangerous belief he nearly internalized!

"I'm not into guys either! I'm not into girls or guys. I'm just not into romance or anything like that. You hear me? I ain't gay!" I take a deep breath and calm myself.

Damn that was dangerous. Nid nearly assumed something dangerous. He would probably say something along the lines of 'Badasses must have a significant other,' or something like that. Not that being gay is a bad thing.

Romance just doesn't do anything for me. Probably because no girl would want to get with such a misfortunate guy like me.

"Enough about romance shit. Why are you taking up all of the drinking water!" He becomes indignant at this.

"I'm the cleanest mother fucker you'll ever see in your life! I'm just cooling down!" Yeah, okay.

"And those dried bloodstains that look like they can never come out of your scales? Are you telling me that those bloodstains are a fashion statement? You're not getting any female dragons to give you her eggs looking like that!"

"Hmph. There are no females good enough to handle me!" That's one of the cockiest things I've ever heard.

"And these 'bloodstains' are actually marks that I was born with. Looks pretty badass, right?" Makes you look like a dumbass. "My body is naturally clean, so you don't have to worry about drinking any debris that comes off my body." I let out a sigh of relief. That cheeky smile of his didn't disappear though.

"You do have to worry about me pissing and shitting in the water though. It's mixed nice and good for ninety-nine years." My eyes widen and I begin to feel sick. I cover my mouth with one hand and my face pales and turns green. In my other hand sparks of electricity begin to form.

"You sick dragon!"


End file.
